College Research

ART INSTITUTES ESSAY QUESTION

What are your career goals and how do you expect your education at The Art Institute of Portland to help you attain them? In what ways will you commit to your education in order to be successful?

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COA Poster: Draft

Coming of Age (draft)

Coming of Age

It was the year 2000 and I was at the tender age of 3. Although I was so young, I still remember it very vividly. 

Constant raging arguments, a blur of words to my young ears as I innocently misinterpret every slur. Looking at them both, I generously ask "Do you want a piece of candy?", but in return I get a unison "NO!". Hurt, I quickly leave them and retreat to my room. After what seemed to be an eternity, my mom beckoned me back. "Mommy and Daddy need to tell you something" she says. "What?" I briefly ask " Mommy and Daddy can't be with each other anymore, we both still love you very mu..." That was it, my hearing blurred due to shock, my vision to tears. I thought when a man and woman marry eachother they stay together forever, but apparently I was about to learn differently. This is the story of my parents devorce. This is the story of my early coming of age. This is the story of my life.

The divorce of parents is gonna be hard on any kid. I guess you could say it has it's ups and downs, or positives and negatives, but I'm just trying to focus on the good things here. This life changing experience has taught me to be responsible, strong, and appreciative.

Responsible - In the beginning my parents did everything for me. I switched homes every week, so my mom would help me on hers, and my dad on his. But as I got older, I started adding on to my responsibilities list. (I'm mostly talking about homework) To be honest, I sucked at "being responsible", I did the typical forget my book at home thing that all kids do. But what sucked was, if I left it at my moms, but was at my dads, I'd be screwed because I'd have to wait till I go back, or make my mom go out of her way and drop it off. Around 3rd grade, I noticed that it was really jamming me up. This led me to a "step-up-in-game" as I call it. After I stepped up my game (became more responsible), my grades instantly started improving.

Strong - Not to sound like a little cry baby or anything, but I used to cry every day. Either for my mom, or for my dad, basically whoever I wasn't with. By this time, I had sort of a small hope that they'd get back together. But after the weeks went by, I came to a realization that they weren't. So, I just sucked it up, which made me a stronger individual. (Along with just sucking it, I also began to switch every 2 weeks so that I wasn't moving as often)

Appreciative - As with everyone, you trick yourself into feeling bad for, yourself. I wanted to stop this, and so I began to reflect. Of course, I wondered if it was my fault, or of I did anything that may have aggravated their situation. But in the end, the "coming of age" has taught me to just accept what I have. And from doing that, was able to appreciate it, and actually start feeling lucky and blessed.

The divorce of my parents may have initially seemed like a bad thing, but might have actually been good. These events helped build my character and shape the person I am today. Only now am I able to see that, through the coming of age.

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Mini Essay

      The tourists should be at fault due to their foolish actions, obliviousness to the warning signs, and their lack of common sense. When tourists are out of their "environment", they tend to act out in silly and foolish ways. Such an incident happened to 18-year-old Daniel Dick of Sylmar, Calif. In this situation, Daniel was killed when he allegedly "Straddled the explosive water spout" at Halona Blowhole. He was lifted 3-5 in the air where he was then dropped head first on to a rocky crevice, causing him to die. Other accidents like this should also be blamed on the tourists because of their ignorance of signs. For example, David Potts of San Anselmo, Calif., was seen dancing around a blowhole when a wave swept him from behind, knocking him into the hole. A sign stating "Blowhole: Park and Walk at your own risk" was posted on the rock at Nakele Point parking lot, surely hinting at the dangers ahead. Despite signs David proceeded... Foolish actions, and the ignoring of danger signs must show the lack of common sense, another reason tourists should be at fault for their injuries. Superintendent of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Cindy Orlando, and staff devote much time and energy ensuring visitors fully understand the dangers involved. Agreeing that: "It would be nice to assume that common sense would prevail, but that's not always the case and we have to be aware that our visitors are not in their regular environment an that they need to be made aware of the potential dangers". Surely these visitors are liable for their injuries and deaths, they need to limit foolish actions, take notice of warning signs, and use more common sense overall.