The Brave Outsider by Maria

The Brave Outsider by Maria - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

I took this question to heart and found that there was a long list of people, who have lived on this very earth I stand on, that I would feel beyond privileged to have dinner with. Yet, when it came to choosing one, I chose the person I felt would change my life the most; because of what he lived, how he lived it, and who he was as a person, I would be honored, and, ironically, anxious, to have dinner with Leonardo da Vinci.

In some ways the person I picked is a bit obvious, and might be overdone, but in my eyes he was more than just some great painter or another genius inventor, though these were brilliant achievements I esteem. Honestly, I admire Da Vinci because of who he was, a brave outsider.

Unlike those who embody society, he did not let harsh damning declarations and assumptions dig him a pitiful grave, but instead stood on them proudly, forging his ‘weaknesses’ into advantages. For example, for being a bastard who wrote with his left hand, Da Vinci was ignorantly condemned and said to have been born from the deepest parts of hell, however this wasn’t his curse but his blessing. Consequently, because he wrote with his left hand, Da Vinci’s notes were backwards and could only be deciphered when lifted to a mirror and read, therefore no one ever could steal his futuristic and ingenious ideas.

Also, Da Vinci’s curious mind strived for answers to questions no one dared to ask, and motivated him to live and express himself through every aspect of life, like writing, drawing, painting, inventing, creating, building, etc.

So, because of who he was, this fierce intelligence with no limits, an outsider saved from society’s cages, a person who knew himself and went after what he wanted, and because of everything he embodied, I would yearn to have dinner with Leonardo da Vinci.

If this man could figure out who he was and what he wanted, without the advice or suggestion of anyone, then how come many can’t? This would be what I would want to learn through this dinner. I want to pick his brain or soul and find the “eureka” moment he had. I want to risk being disappointed by a simple answer that might make me feel completely foolish. I want to debate with him philosophical questions about life and, ultimately, never arrive at a concrete answer. I want to be inspired by his perspective on life and even come to change my life’s prescription and get a new pair of eyes that will allow me to see the world in that way. I want to be a child like he was and believe that man can fly even when everything indicates the opposite. I want to have his faith.

Most of all, I want to see it for myself. I want to see the man who influenced a whole era, the Renaissance, of human history. I want to see the man who got the chance to paint for nobles, work with the French king, and express what the world could not on stretched fabric and hand-stitched notebooks.

Comically, if I am being honest, I want to “fangirl” over him for a night, because I find him to be such an intriguing human being. I would even risk being overly disappointed. For all I know he could be a total jerk, not talk much during the dinner, or not be anything I expected. Nevertheless, because Da Vinci is the exception to this world’s implied rules, I believe there is no one that would change my way of life to something unexpected, and possibly incredibly better, than Leonardo da Vinci.