Art Is Not Dead by Xuan

Art Is Not Dead by Xuan - December 2013 Scholarship Essay

I remember coming across an infographic on the Internet that illustrated the value parents placed on art and the freedom for their children to express themselves. The majority of parents in the survey advocated such, however when questioned about their children's pursuit of an arts education or art as a career, support dropped tremendously. My parents would be very likely to fall in the minority as well. Art was never encouraged by my parents; instead, they pushed for me to engage in a STEM field, such as computer science. In high school, I focused my studies core academic classes such as math, psychology or english. The art courses I took were simply frivolous electives. However, I became very intrigued by art as the class went on. I found myself looking at objects very differently. I would see objects with an interesting shape and ask myself, "how can I draw that?"

Years later, art continued to be a low priority for me. I pursued psychology and programming courses during college. However, when I wasn't studying, chances were I was blogging or reading blogs. I decided to join a blog community that took place at my school, created and run by students. Our blogging club would exchange ideas about fashion, local and small businesses, various cultures, DIY projects, and so on. Blogging has inspired many of my interests and paved the path of creativity for me. I found a place in the “blogosphere” for me to connect and share ideas with like-minded people. Many bloggers that I follow are graphic or interior designers with a great sense of aesthetics whom I admire. I've also met up with bloggers around the world, from as nearby as California to as far away as Australia. Without blogging, I would not have grown so deeply fascinated by details and enthralled in design as I am today.

During college, while taking my first information technology course, I discovered the field of human-computer interaction design. I realized that this area encompassed my seemingly unrelated interests – psychology and programming with design – and married them together. Academics and art came together in this niche that I have carved out for myself. I am very excited to incorporate art and creativity in my field. It is my goal to become a user experience designer and create beautiful, functional products that accommodate as well as delight the user. Who says that art should be disregarded as a career? Blogging allowed me channel my creativity and make a career out of it. I believe that if you want to design and be creative, focus it and find out how to incorporate it.