The prompt is:
"Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?"
This was honestly really difficult for me to come up with so I need all the help I an get on this one, thanks in advance...
I've always had an interest in computers, how they work, and the strings behind everything we see in the programs we use every day. This being said, when my friend tapped on my shoulder in computer class to show me a function in web browsers that allows you to inspect and edit the lattice of any website you are viewing, my interest was immediately peaked. Something about looking at actual, functioning code just clicked in my mind. The code could be temporarily edited, so I would play around with it and try to teach myself how it all worked through trial and error, which I find to be one of the best methods of learning. Little did I realize I had just discovered my passion.
Soon after, I began teaching myself the HTML programming language to better understand what I was doing. Through the power of the internet I was learning how to read, write, and understand the digital language. My interest wasn't going anywhere but up, and all I wanted to do was learn more. Over the summer all I wanted to do was write programs, so I began learning another language known as Java, which branched into my undertaking of writing multiple programs at a time, sometimes writing them for other people, for the purpose of gaining experience and sharpening my skills.
This line of thinking quickly enveloped my study goals, and I began preparing for a future of computer science, all because my friend tapped me on my shoulder. I quickly signed up for the computer science course being offered at my school, as well as looking into colleges with the top computer science and mathematics programs which would best facilitate my passion, which is when I decided that the University of Texas would be the perfect place for me to grow and explore my potential as a future computer scientist.
Michael, as an overview of your interest in computers, this essay really works well. However, I believe that it falls a little short when it comes to explaining how discovering the language of HTML and computer programming changed your outlook about your chosen major. You came in really strong with the paragraphs regarding your preparation for your college course. That is something that the reviewer will take note of. However, that is in the latter part of your essay. The earlier part, the one that deals with how this realization changed your perception or way of thinking regarding computers and programming.
As a reviewer, I would have liked to have seen some reference to how you viewed computers and its relevance in everyday life before your friend tapped you on the shoulder. A paragraph that details your previous mindset is the perfect basis for the introduction of the tap on the shoulder and your entry into the programming world. From that point, you can segue into a paragraph that explains the change in your mindset. It isn't just about passion, it's about changing the way you viewed computers / computer programming in general.
You said that "Something about looking at actual, functioning code just clicked in my mind. The code could be temporarily edited, so I would play around with it and try to teach myself how it all worked through trial and error, which I find to be one of the best methods of learning." In order to discuss the change in mindset, you need to tell the reviewer what it was that clicked in your mind. That is what changed your way of thinking about computers and the programming language. That is where your passion stems from. So develop it, present it, and make sure that it is written in such a way that it can help support the continued quest for knowledge that you discuss in the later part of the essay.
