ANNA CANGELLARIS
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Saturday, May 31, 2008

SOMETHING REMARKABLE ABOUT the students I have come to know in my five years at Uni High is that each one of them is truly different. I have spent my time here amongst a myriad of unique people, all with individual aspirations and interests.

These aren’t just dividing lines that separate the math-oriented students from the chemistry and history obsessed and the creative writers, they’re lines that stream from and interconnect the athletes, the dancers, the theater junkies, the artists, the foreign language buffs, and the compassionate community service enthusiasts. But that’s just skimming the surface.

I could delve deeper into the intricacies of the webbed personalities of the students and friends I have come to know, but by now I am sure that the rest of the attentive Uni community has absorbed enough of the exceptional rarities of which I speak to have a vivid enough idea to follow my musings.

My message to all of these multi-interested and creative students is to pursue all of the eclectic hobbies and curiosities that piece them together because those things will most likely comprise their future career paths.

Yes, there are only 24 hours in a day, and at least 10 of those are wholly devoted to school. Every Uni student chose this path of hard work and academic intensity; yet, if we have the brainpower and mental drive to make it through half-life enthalpy reactions, 12-flowchart history tests, and lengthy English papers, we can also find ways to stretch our time and concentrate on some of the things that make us individuals.

I am going to spend the next four years in a design school, learning to render images in 2-D and 3-D forms and ultimately acquire the skills to communicate information through art.

Not in my wildest dreams had I ever pictured myself in such a situation.

Art has always been a passion of mine, but one that I kept on the back burner. Not once did imagine that I would or could trade in my textbooks and study guides for charcoal and paper.

I’d always imagined college as a place where I’d gain the freedom I’ve thirsted for these last five years and learn a great deal, but also as a place where I’d have to write lots of papers and do research and assignments that I wouldn’t particularly like.

In a way I was dreading college. I couldn’t decide on a major and wasn’t as enthusiastic about the things I would learn as I felt like I should have been. I now realize that those qualms and sentiments of uncertainty were due to the fact that my college plans didn’t include the one thing that I truly loved and couldn’t get enough of: art.

Rhode Island School of Design was the only art school I applied to. I figured it was a long shot and was consequentially shocked when I received a letter of acceptance from RISD the week of May 1.

I am indescribably happy. I can’t imagine myself pursuing anything but art for the rest of my life.

As I reflect on my college application process, I am, in a way, terrified that I only applied to one art school. What if I hadn’t been accepted and instead was doomed to lead a troubled, unsatisfying life of mediocrity?

My point is, future graduates, if you love something like art or athletics or theater or writing, make it the forefront of your focus. Don’t hide behind your calculus book or English texts simply because you have a knack for those subjects if they aren’t what you are passionate about. There are so many different things one can do, don’t try to conform to a mold and don’t let anyone ever put you in a box.

Peace and love to all.