An Artist by Matthew

An Artist by Matthew - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

A lot changes when you grow: your friends, your clothing size, your knowledge. Even your ideas have to change at some point. My ideas at 6 years old aren’t too different from now, but, from an outsiders perspective, the non-similarities are noticeable.
When I was younger, I decided I wanted to be an artist; my parents always told me that I would be one. When I was a toddler, as I’m told, I would draw on anything with anything. As time passed, I became more and more interested in art. I enjoyed the control I had over the pencil when I drew; the freedom I had with every stroke of paint. When I would finish, it wouldn’t just be done, though; my mind always looks for ways to make things better. Thus, I worked hard to perfect this craft, and develop better skills. My parents even encouraged me to enroll in an art school for middle school, giving me a better understanding of art as a whole (i.e. mediums, styles, techniques, etc.). As I grew closer to high school, people encouraged me to further my skills, and to become professional. However, through research and common knowledge, I realized that become an artist may not be the best decision for an occupation, being that most artists don’t receive much compensation for their works until they are either too old to make more, or deceased, as most famous artists are.
In high school, I was still very much interested in art, though less in a career sense. I’d recently begun doing commissioned artwork, making a reasonable amount of money from it. During my ninth-grade year, I was introduced to the field of engineering. Throughout my entire high school career, I focused on different aspects of engineering through the Project Lead the Way program, and became increasingly interested with them; I found that engineers, who make a considerably large amount of money, use drawings to further communicate ideas and how to implement them. Noting this fact made it much easier to obtain high grades in that class, and peaked my interest in the engineering field; however, I wanted to find a career that would allow me to draw anytime I wanted, allowing me to enjoy that career.
In the twelfth grade, I learned about architecture and civil engineering: both are essentially the same thing, though civil engineering is more hands-on. Both a civil engineer and an architect design infrastructure that is used to better the public’s needs; such structures include homes, roads, business buildings, water towers, etc. Throughout this year, I had to learn to understand and identify certain building styles, learn to make a structurally sound building, and figure out what goes into everyday life that is fixed by a civil engineer or an architect. Because of the apparent need for the appreciation of the artistry that goes into designing, I decided that civil engineer would be the best route for me to take: it still allowed me to pursue a career that would render me as successful, as well allow me to draw for a career. My six-year old self would look at my thought process now in awe, most likely wondering how he hadn’t thought of such an intricate way to become a successful artist.