Career Choice

When growing up I was always going through phases. One particular was, becoming a professional basketball player, another being a professional paintball player. However, when it came to writing and performing music, it seemed natural. From music, I branched into video and photography. All three truly expressed my creativity as an artists and I began to love every minute of it.

Music, video, and photography were all ways that I could express my feelings and ideas. I choose to do audio arts and acoustics because I loved performing in restaurants and clubs, but ultimately, I loved music.

Painting and photography

When I was growing up, I always doodled and drew. I started taking painting classes around the age of ten, and I haven't stopped painting since then. I like painting because it feels natural to me, and I feel like I am able to express myself better on a canvas then in any other way. When I am painting, it helps me think and process my thoughts, and I can see them more clearly. One of the reasons I knew I could study painting in school is because I can do it for a long time and not get tired of it. I can put my headphones in and paint for hours and hours as though no time has passed.

When I started photography five years ago, I enjoyed looking through the lense in the same way I was looking at a canvas. I enjoyed setting up a composition, playing with color, lines, and shapes. Although it was new to me, it felt natural the same way painting had. As I grew aquired more skills as a photographer, I realized I could make money off it. I took senior portraits for people and pictures for websites. I enjoyed making money from something I loved, and I wanted to continue that. I want to study photography at Columbia so I can have enough skills to be a professional. I want to study painting because it is my first passion, and I would never be able to let go of it. Even if painting doesnt take me anywhere career wise, I will always persue it.

What made me choose my career?

I have always had this passion to make / edit videos ever since I was about 13 years old. Whenever I went home I would go on YouTube just to watch videos that people edited. After watching so many videos that people have made with programs such as Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4d, Sony Vegas, and more I felt like I was ready! I conjured up ideas in my head in regards to what I was going to do for my first video that I released, and then when I opened the program with the footage I became lost. I had no idea how to do anything!

Even though I had these spectacular ideas they always turned out to look terrible. So I decided to look up how to use a program called Sony Vegas on YouTube, because everything is on YouTube! YouTube has taught me everything that I know about video editing. If it wasn't for YouTube, I don't know how I would have learned to use Sony Vegas, or any other editing software that I own.

After a few years passed I wanted to start a new
challenge, in addition to editing videos. I became interested in 3D Modeling, and once again I would come up with these terrific ideas about things but I was never able to utilize them because of my experience with these programs.

I am still undergoing the process of learning how to edit videos and 3D Animation, but at least I can say that I have about 5 years of editing experience and 1 year of 3D Animation experience. There are always new things to learn about a subject, even though I have 5 years of experience in video editing, I have not even learned half of the amount of information that is out there about it.

Television Writing

My major is television writing. The first time I watched TV I was fascinated by it. I could not wrap my young mind around how I was watching people on a screen in my house. When I learned that the people on the screen were actors I was slightly disappointed that it was not real life but soon got over it. Then I had more questions; Who told them what to do and what to say? My parents told me people wrote scripts for them. I was dumbfounded. That was a real job? I wanted to do that. I loved writing and loved watching TV. It was so simple.

I continued to love writing and aspired to be a TV writer. It wasn't for a few years after this that I first saw Saturday Night Live. I was obsessed. I loved how the short sketches had so much content and humor. I wanted to be apart of it. I started thinking about how I would move to New York, walk into NBC, find Lorne Michaels, and ask for a job as a for SNL. My parents thought my dream was a bit far fetched and in some ways still do, but I am on the right track to prove them wrong.

Television writing has been my dream for so long and I am so excited that I get to learn all about it at Columbia.

My Career

If you ask me what I want to do as a career, I would reply to choreograph show choirs and/or Broadway musicals.If you ask me where this came from, well that I cannot honestly answer. It just kind of came to me. I participated in musical theatre for ten years and then i was in show choir for a year. I loved to perform. I knew that was what I wanted to do as a career. As I grew up i started to enjoy the aspect of creating dance pieces and completion shows for show choir. I started to watch people choreograph and see how they taught people and really started to engage in my creative side. One day i woke up and was like I wanna be a choreographer.

I do not have this huge exciting story like other people do. I just view it as a calling or destiny and now I am working towards that, to be the best I can be. I always will be that perform and will always perform on the satge. Everyday I am alwasy creating new dance piece that I pull from insperation from show choir, Lady Gaga, and Prince Poppycock.

Interior Architecture

I don't have any real specific reasons as to what made me choose interior architecture as my major. At first, I wanted to pursue interior design, which Columbia does not offer as a major. Ever since I was a child I would always find new ways to decorate and rearrange my room. It's just something that I always found interest in.

When I was a youngster, I always liked moving my bunk-bed to the other side of the room, because it was fun to sleep in other areas of the room that seemed unfamiliar to me, if that makes sense? I loved building forts in the middle of my room, and being able to sleep in them. There was just something so exciting to me about it. Maybe it had to do with the fact that creating something new within something I couldn't really change. I obviously couldn't tell my dad I want to move houses every time I wanted to change the scenery up in my bedroom, especially as a little 6 year old.

As high school came to an end, I hadn't really put much thought into what career I wanted to pursue. All I knew was that I wanted to pursue something that would make me happy, and would make others happy as well. I didn't want to do something in life that I wouldn't enjoy, just because it would bring me the dough. I then remembered how much I enjoyed, and still do enjoy, decorating and switching up my bedroom.

My entire eighteen years of living, I've lived in the same two bedroom house. It's kind of depressing seeing the same four walls everyday. So then I thought "I want to do interior design. It's what makes me happy."

My boyfriend introduced me to Columbia, so I looked into it. I saw that they didn't offer interior design, but the next best thing was interior architecture. I thought, "Close enough, right?". It's still designing the interior of a building, but focusing more on the architecture/structure.

Scholarly Cat

Why Bridge?

I have a strong work ethic. When I know I need to get something done I don't just do it to get it over with, but instead, I work to my full potential. Going to a College Prep school, I was never able to be creative within my homework or papers. I knew I worked hard during all four years, but I never did well on tests. One trait I know I had during my four years of high school was creativity.

Being creative with my papers and homework allows me to enjoy my work. But, my teachers continually wanted more. Like Mark from Lost In Place, my teachers never gave me the acceptance of being creative and different than the rest the students. However, I also bring the community respect and manners. I will always treat everyone with respect and say my please and thank yous. Growing up I always had a different perspective upon every assignment and always seemed to have great ideas and thoughts.

My junior year of high school was very difficult for me. My teachers never talked to each other about the schedule for upcoming tests, quizzes, and projects. At least four out of the five day week I would have multiple tests, quizzes, and projects. I got the work done, but being creative I realized I needed more time. This continued to happen, and I tried to change my work ethic, but that didn't help. I worked ahead, and wrote my papers as soon as I got the assignments. But still, I was maintaining a low GPA. The system of my school was to teach you how college was going to be like. But, I never thought that college would give you hours to study, create projects, and write papers. For example, it was near the end of the second term of school before spring break and my teacher went off her schedule. She sneaked a pop test on the last day to try to boost our GPA, but as the class later found out, it lowered our GPA. Like I said before, I work hard. But, what Columbia saw was the GPA, not my effort.

After a long day at school and knowing I have a paper due the next day, I never worked on it right away. I pushed it off till the last hour. I came home and slept, than woke up at 11pm realizing I have to write my paper. But, I seemed to get by with B's on papers. I think what truly got me here was sports. By this I mean I paid more attention to the sports I was participating in rather than my school work. I was very athletic during high school always loving to spend time outside or on the basketball court. Also, my coaches always demanded we be on time everyday and attend every single practice. If we were to tell our coach that we can't make a game or practice because of school, we would get scolded at, or even worse, kicked off the team. Spending time with my teammates seemed more important than school. Like I said having a 8 hour day of school than having 3-5 hours more added on, to than drive 30 minutes home; its a long day. I found it hard to do work after practices so I would try to get my work done during school, but I would do it just to do it, not to understand the work. I'm enrolled in this program because I wasn't able to maintain a busy schedule. That's why I believe that the bridge program has really helped me to write a good paper, while also keeping a social life. I learned a lot and cannot wait to carry these traits I've learned and apply them to the regular school year!

Why am I in Bridge?

In my essay that I submitted to Columbia admissions, I talked about how I had a huge passion for video editing and never let a single obstacle to come in my way. I have worked on many projects in my past and I want to continue to press forward my desire to become a video editor.





I believe they saw my determination, and passion that I have for editing videos. This passion was so large I started to put everything before it, even my school work.

In high school I didn't take my studies seriously. I would put my homework aside if I was working on a video for someone. If I'm not editing a video then I'm watching some TV, and I can't get enough of psych on Netflix!

Not only did I have the pressure of making video for clients, I would be asked to make videos for my school, which didn't help me at all. I found myself working on a new video project almost everyday leaving about 3 hours left for studying, and doing my homework. My school also didn't help us by making a 95 on a test a B+ (85 C+ etc) (Just saying)


The bridge program has really opened my eyes to see that this is real. Without the proper education you will get nowhere in life. If a company had to make a decision between someone with a lot of experience with no college education, where as to a person with some experience, they would choose the person with the college degree hands down. This is because they can see they are fully committed to what they are doing, so committed that they went out to spend thousands of dollars to be educated on the subject. They feel a since of dedication to the person with the college degree. I regret not taking high school seriously, I know I have the potential to excel in anything I do I just need the same determination I have in editing videos as I do in my school work.

I now have full determination to become a Columbia College student. I no longer edit videos till I'm done with my work, and I don't even turn on the TV. My father, who is an attorney, is the only one in my family of 4 to finish college. My sister is 21, and my mother is..... Lets just say shes my mother and doesn't have her degree either. I feel as if it is my duty to follow my dads footsteps and finish college.

Why Am I Here?

When I applied to Columbia, my grades were horrible. But my SAT scores were much better than my grades, and I wrote a well written and thoughtful essay. I also sent a portfolio with my very best work which I had spent a lot of time on. I think Columbia gave me a second chance because I showed that I was passionate about art, and my SATs and essay showed that I had the skill set and potential to succeed.
I always got bad grades growing up because I never tried hard enough and I didn't think I was capable of the work. Getting bad grades was upsetting, so by the time I got to highschool, I didn't give my schoolwork any attention because I thought it was useless. I would half ass my work and do it just so it was done. I would skip classes I didn't understand because they were too miserable to sit through. The only class I was good at was art, so I would go there and paint rather than sit through chemistry or geometry. By the time I convinced myself that I was capable of succeeding in school, it was too late, I was too behind. Homework and schoolwork became important and I wanted to succeed, but this didn't happen until my Junior year, and other circumstances which I couldn't control were preventing me from succeeding.
I never got along with my step dad because he sucked. In Highschool, I did everything I could to make him angry, and unfortunately I was succesful. He had so many rules and itwas so hard not to brake them, so I got fed up and started braking as many of them as I could. The summer going into my Junior year, he cut off my health insurance and stopped paying for anything else like school sports ($500 per year), clothes, and food. I started working at a restaraunt 30 hours a week and I was playing sports year round. This left very little time for homework, and made tedious writing prompts and math problems unbearable and seemingly irrelivant especially at 1 in the morning when I got out of work.
By my senior year, I was doing better in school because I was takingclasses I enjoyed and I was better at managing my time. I was living on friends couches and they would help me get my work done, and they encouraged me to go to college. It is a miracle that Columbia gave me a second chance, and I feel very fortunate that I have the opportunity to prove myself and I think I am capable of the work.
Being in a place where every one supports you and understands you is exactly what I needed. I feel like I am in the perfect enviroment to learn and succeed.

Bridge? What's that? Why are you there?

Why do I think Columbia gave me a second look? I think because of my passion for my medium. I have an ambition for the performing arts, and I think Columbia saw that in my essay when I applied. The admissions office saw my passion for the arts and truly believed if I was given the chance I would excel in the academic and creative aspects of school.

Why did I get put in the bridge? This was because of A LOT of partying and hard core drugs not seriously, but because of my grades or my lack of. I was a very smart student and enjoyed some of my classes, just not the busy work they gave us. I hated homework over the same topic day after day it would start to become boring and I said screw it. Junior year of high school all I wanted to focus on was musical theatre and performing. I started to not to my homework, which lead to poor test grades. I also missed a lot of school because I would skip classes or get really sick. Senior year I worked my butt of and pulled up my G.P.A. to a 2.8, just shy of my goal of a 3.0.

Here I am in the bridge program TWO WEEKS left to go until I will fully be able to say I am a Columbia College Chicago Student. Even though the evaluation is turned off, I am still going to be on top of my game. No matter what happens to me this next year I am not going to fall back into the situation I did in high school. In May 2015 I will be walking across the stage graduating. I will know that only a select few of us in the bridge actually made it to that point and I will be one of them!

Bridge to Columbia

I'm enrolled in the bridge program for multiple reasons. The biggest reason being was that I was the worlds biggest slacker in high school. I am definitely a bright kid, and am fully capable of achieving any goals I set my mind to. I just didn't like doing work. I went to high school for more of the social aspect, and didn't really see school as a main priority. I was more concerned with maintaining my friendships with people, and having fun. I procrastinated on all of my work, and did enough just to get by.

I took high school as a joke (which I completely regret). I always left my work until the last minute, and accomplished it with very little effort and thought, which in turn, made me receive low grades. I was not a focused student AT ALL. In math class, I would doze off frequently (which I'm sure we're all guilty of doing at one point).

As the years progressed, I started to mature more. I started to realize that I can't live like this forever. I can't goof off the way I did my freshman and sophomore year. Junior year I promised myself that I wouldn't slack off anymore. But the same old routine happened. I started off the year well, and once I hit a bump, I kind of stayed there. I was always afraid to ask for help, or didn't know where to find it. I was an extremely shy student in the classroom, and was afraid to voice my opinions because I was scared that my classmates might judge me. And I think that's another reason why I failed to receive good grades, which lead me to this program.

Senior year was a NEWSFLASH for me. My freshman through junior year of high school, I participated in a school organization called The College Studies Program (CSP). It's pretty self explanatory. The students in CSP were more focused and driven to do their work, whereas the regular kids (the remainder of the school) had it slightly easier. Basically CSP they taught you many skills you needed to know and have in college, and the work was a bit more advanced than the regulars.

Senior year was the best and the worst year for me. I was put into "regular" classes, because after having failed so many courses, the only way they could fit the classes I needed to retake was to transfer me to regulars. This really helped me succeed better in school. The courses were easier, and not challenging at all. I definitely saw the difference in CSP and regulars. I liked not having as many restrictions that CSP had.

A few months into my senior year, my doctor discovered a lump in my neck which needed to be surgically removed. It was a cyst on my thyroid, which after having surgery, was found to be cancerous. I missed in total, about two months of school due to the surgery and radiation therapy. I was behind on schoolwork, and found it hard to catch up. I seriously thought that I was not going to graduate because I didn't have all the credits needed. But I was cut a lot of slack this year by my teachers, which I am extremely thankful for.

I didn't really start thinking about college til' towards the end of senior year. This is where I started to prioritize myself as a person. I knew that everything was not going to be handed to me on a silver platter for the rest of my life. I needed to be independent. My boyfriend knew that I always had a thing for interior design/architecture. He suggested that I check out Columbia (the school that he'd been accepted, and potentially going to). I liked what I saw, and went ahead and applied. I was very satisfied with my essay that I sent the school. I feel like it really captured me as a person, and showed how much I wanted to go to this school. I feel like I possessed all the qualities that I needed to to be accepted to the school, but my poor choices in high school was the main deciding factor.

Now that I'm in the bridge program, I feel almost fully prepared to take on what the college life has to offer.

Why I'm in the Bridge Program

In high school I was learning about things that did not interest me in a school that I had no interest in attending. I did next to no work. I put in zero effort and was expelled. When I started my new school I had even less interest then before. I put in no effort and was able to pass with all D's.

I have a creative mind, along with every other student attending Columbia. What makes me stand out is that I have the ability to express my creativity through writing. I write mostly about personal experiences and turn them into hilarious comedy sketches.

When it was time to apply to college, the only school I was interested in was Columbia. I applied and after a few months of not hearing from the school I called them. They said they were still evaluating my application because they were confused by the huge contrast between my transcript and my high SAT scores and the essay from my application. They let me know that they were considering putting me into the Bridge Program, but they were not sure yet. I wrote a letter to the head of admissions explaining what I had done wrong in high school and what I would do differently in college. Two days later I was admitted to the Bridge Program.

In college I plan to do the exact opposite of what I did in high school. I plan on putting all of my effort into my work. I plan on actually studying, reading, and completing all of my homework. I will not be skipping weeks of class; I will be attending every single class on time. Instead of sleeping or ignoring my teachers completely, I will listen to every word my teachers say and take detailed notes. I really do enjoy learning and am looking forward to the fall semester.

Colors, shadows,blurry, boken,patterns, symmetry,texture, dept of field,and lines. This is what my art would consist of my art would be photography. I'm very interested in photography and i was thinking about minoring in it. Its an amazing type of art. I Love to find AMAZING pictures with these elements in them at Puting them on my blog site.

I would convey to my audience that he is on a new journey to a place that he is UNFAMILIAR with. He doesn't know where to start and where to finish, but he is determine to figure it out. 

My Piece of Art

If I had a piece of art it would be unique. Knowing my love for music, I would take pictures of my equipment for a hobby. I try to have my photos match that specific song that I am working on. Capturing the idea of a story while looking at a picture of a guitar seems difficult. But, its the colors, arrangement, and focus that I base everything when taking my pictures.


When one looks at pictures its silent. The viewer only sees the picture, but hears nothing. When I'm creating my piece of art, I tend to give the viewer best of both worlds. It allows them to enjoy the picture, but listen to the music to understand the story of the song and photo. The perception of color also gives the viewer a feeling that allows them to express their emotions. For example, if I were to sing and write a song about love, I would take calm peaceful photos. Giving the familiar feeling what what love means to others. 

 I want my audience to connect and understand my songs, along with my photographs. I want them to have the photos in their mind when listening to the song and maybe even their own images. When the song is over I don't just want the song stuck in their minds, but the message and thoughts that were conveyed throughout. My photos give my songs more support and I hope to continue to inspire and guide millions of people around the world.

New Art

If I could create a new piece of art I would create a painting of a young white male holding hands with an older black women and to her side was a older white male holding hands with a younger black female. In the picture , those four would be walking on a bridge over top of high waters. The back drop would look like those four are leaving from a rioted city that was in flames and walking to a new community. At the end of the bridge were people of all races and sexual orientations welcoming them in. The message I am trying to put fourth to viewer is one day we all can come together and not live in a racist, sexist, homophobic world and live peacefully together. This message is important because, even though were all different, that makes us all the same.

I would create an image using a recycle logo to promote recycling. Too many people in the world don't recycle. Currently our carbon footprint is as big as half the world because we use anything that we can get a hold of, and don't recycle. This same footprint will, sooner or later, turn around an kick us in our butt.

This image will be a painting of a foot that his placed on top of the world. Then coming from that foot would be tons of garbage on vines, flowing down all sides of the world. This would be a double meaning: athletes foot and the true meaning which is our carbon footprint is taking over the world.

If you created a new piece of art, what would it look like, sound like, feel like?

What message would you try to convey to your audience?
Why is that message important for you to communicate to others?

Still working on it

If I were to create a piece of art, it would definitely be something that would bring happiness to others. I'm the type of person who finds a great deal of inspiration in corny/cliché type quotes, like "Live like there's no tomorrow." I would find a way to incorporate that message through my art. I'm generally an overall happy person, and I like positive energy. My creations would definitely have a lot of positive energy flowing through them. I don't exactly know what art form that my creation would take. I just know that I would want my art to bring inspiration to others. Whether it's blatantly obvious, with an inspirational quote plastered over a picture of a perfect sunset, or something a little more complex that makes you think.

If i were :) a Painter

If I was a painter I would do art work just like Salvador Dali because I would want to twist the viewers mind and have them think of many explanations into why I Painted it in this kind of morphing way. all tho I would love to do all my work just like Salvador Dali, I would love to incorporate the graffiti style of Banksys art as well.

Combining the illusions of Salvador Dalis paintings and the distractions of the graffiti that Banksy does it is important for my art work to send out a message to others because i would like to express my feeling threw very trippy and out of the ordinary paintings that would be located on walls just like graffiti, so that people wouldn't have to go to museum to understand what I'm trying to say, It would be ht in front them.

My Importance of Art

If I have to create a piece of art, I would like my creation to Look, feel and sound completely original. I like for my audience to categorize my style of art in its own category. The message that I want to give out to my audience is to try to be complete original at all times. Originally is so important to me because, it allows people to view your style of art from just your perspective. I don't mind being inspired by other peoples art, but I don't like being compared to others art style. People always criticize and will point out if you borrowed an idea from another person. I believe if people could view your art from just your creativity, people would have a better understanding of your style of art.

Music is my style of art. The way I portray my Originally is rapping about certain topic that relates to me and my personal interest. I always rap about my experience with thing. That way many people cant relate unless of course they been through the same experience. The beats I rap on are beats that haven't been recorded on ever. With beats that made personally for me, I like to change the sound and use different unique instrument tools. The beats I rap on are so exclusive that nobody can really find them anywhere.

Writing is Art

If I were to create a new work of art I would write a paper on why writing is an important form of art. Despite what many people think, I believe writing is an important form of art. Some people think that art has to be visual or auditory. When I write I am creating art just as much as a painter is creating art when they paint.

If I we're to create a new piece art, it mostly likely would be a beat. It would sound like a mix of old records from the 70's soul era & 90's hip hop. My form of art for making a beat is all in sampling. A lot of great hip hop producers sample records such as DJ Premiere, Pete Rock, J.Dilla, Large Professor and Kanye West.

The feel and vibe for the art would all depends on which record is being sampled and even how it's used. The form of music which I like to create would feel like the present with a element of what's in the past, not forgetting the true form of where it all began. Some records can be smooth and mellow but other can also show a wide variety of timbre (http://soundcloud.com/mrintlmc/new-beat-308)

The message that I would get across to the audience is that many can put together anything & call it art. It takes someone whose dedicated and stand behind their vision to step forth and show it's true meaning. There's plenty of ways to go about making music, but only you yourself have what it takes to make it mean much more. There's always something specific to someone's method of doing something that makes it unique. The audience should understand that there's originality within self to create.

Dancing for LGBT

If I could create a piece of art it would be a dance piece incorporating bulling and harassment of LGBT teens and equality for all. This is a piece I have thought a lot about and I am working on it now. The piece would intertwine many styles of dance like ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. The music would also range from pop dance numbers to ballads. In my head i have it set to the music of Lady Gaga because I got the inspiration from her song Hair when she performed in live on the Paul O'Grady Show.

This social issue is important because everyday LGBT teens are committing suicide because they feel that they there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I was like this once, but I now know that there is hope and that I have a gift I need to share with people. This piece wouldn't be just for LGBT teens but for everyone who feels alone. I want to show them there are people out there who do care for them and their is a better future ahead

Photo by: Bronte Price

Installation time

I really really really want to create an art installation!! I have done one once before and it was the most amazing experience! I got to work with other artists and create a huge piece of art.

Sometimes when I draw or paint it doesn't suffice. I feel like letting my creativity explode letting it burst all over the room. That is the type of installment I would create. I would have colorful 3-d objects which I created hanging from the ceiling and coming out of the walls. I would have things sticking straight up out of the floor and coming in through a window. The 3-d objects would be a metaphor for the way I feel about creativity and art. I would get other artists to work with me because that would make the work exponentially cooler!

Whats Her Name ??

You know her by her hit single ft drake " whats my name" or you may know her because of her new fire red hair. Whats her name??? Rihanna, Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988), better known as simply Rihanna is a Barbadian R&B recording artist.Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career. Rihanna is very unique and i love her music and i dont just listen to the song i listen to the lyrics, and the beat,[ Like really listen!!] As i do with every song.

Rihanna look and style has drastically changed over the years. She went from island, to kind of a pop look to fierce rocker B___. I Love it, her style really influences me with my designs. I Love her black rocker look, red lipstick, and bright red hair, However I also like her sweet soft look Rhianna is a fashion && Pop icon, and will be in the indusrty for much longer, and im sure she'll change her style mutiple time before then.

 

Favorite Artist

When I think of artist, I think of their own unique style. If i were to pick one person who describes this, I would pick Ellie Goulding. Ellie made her debut album in 2010, which appeared No. 1 on the U.K. charts. From then, she was a star.

Goulding was on her way to stardom. When first reading about her I read that we had something in common; she was a self taught singer and guitarist. Listening to her music, British electric-pop, is a lot different than other pop songs. In an interview, Ellie said that she wanted to keep her love for folk music, but be involved in the pop genre. I love her honest personality, rather than most pop artists who seem to take a different path. She found a way to love music and tie that into her career; while still maintaining a stable and normal life. It wasn't easy for her to make this change in her life, but it shows her dedication towards music and her fans. Moving from the U.K. must have been a dramatic change for her and her family. But, I feel that I have a connection with her throughout each song. For example; when Peter Carpenter shared his dance with us, did you feel or connect to anything? Did you relate to the storyline of the dance? Was there anything you disliked about the dance? Why? We seem to ask a lot of questions to ourselves to better understand the painting, dance or music. But, what Ellie Goulding sings about is her journey and how she got to where she is today. She describes the ups and downs of her personal life, to share with her audience; so they as individuals understand where she came from.

The road she has taken has lead her to gain millions of fans and success. I think one would benefit from her story because just as in the books we are reading now, her songs portray her story and connection towards music. Listen to her new debut album, Lights, and get just a glimpse of her and her life story.

Artists!

If I had to choose my favorite artist it would be Chris Brown because he very talented and creative. If I could describe his style in one way I would say very abstract and the reason I say this is because everything he does he adds his own style to it and doesn't care what people think about him. Even though Chris is a Music Artist I really think people may benefit from knowing this him because he has alot of sides to him that nobody knows about. Alot of people don't know that he does art such as graffiti and spray painting. Beside all of his past situations I think he's a great talented person and instead of people judging him they should get to know the good side of him.

Revolutionist

Lady Gaga is not just a singer, dancer, or a fashionista, she is a revolutionist of our time. A revolutionist is a person constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change. Lady Gaga is doing exactly that with her music and fashion. Fashion is always changing and morphing into new and exciting designs. Gaga has stepped out of her comfort zone and has made a change. People at look at what she wears and says that's really ugly or that's something I never would have thought of. She is fashion of the future. I have seen her wear something then months later fashion designers or performers mimicking the design.

Lady Gaga is also revolutionising the way we see ourselves and how we see other people by fighting for equality. Some say this is just a stunt to sell records, concert tickets, etc. I know that this is not and this is truly something she believes in. The world see her in this cookie cutter shape, but you don't truly see that she means what she says until you see her in a packed stadium with just her and her fans or at the stage door. What she says is true and she means every word. She always says she never wants to be dishonest with her fans because we have a connection and as soon as she breaks that connection she is nothing but some blonde bitch singing on stage.

People can love her or hate her, but don't hate what she is doing for our country. Their will always be war,, their will always be economic issues, their will always be poverty, but shouldn't their at least be equality for all?


I have connected with Lady Gaga on a private personal level and she has changed my life for the better. No one will ever be able to understand what I feel when I listen to her speak or sing about social or personal issues. All they will ever understand is that we have a connection and that's all people ever need to know.

Love and Peace,
Keeton Phillips

Common Sense

As it is known, I' am a huge hip hop fan. In the city Of Chicago, there have been many great talents to have come from here. One in particular that I have been a fan of for a long time is a emcee from the south side of Chicago by the name of Common.
The emcee began his career back in 1992 with his debut album, Can I Borrow a Dollar. Throughout Common's career, he's had the chance of working with The Roots, J Dilla, Erkyah Badu, D'Angelo and even today's great hip hop producer Kanye West.
Reason behind why Common is considered one of my top listed artist is because Common has a great skill of lyricism. With a sense of complexity and poetic patterns, Common is truly define as a artist from the street life of Chicago as you may know it or even heard. You can benefit from this artist in means of understanding you can make it through a rough life and not fall into society's stereotypes. Even having a political ought with Bill O'Reilly, Common has shown that hip hop is a true essential form of art and is still considered in out generation. Common is not only known as a legend in the field of hip hop, but he is also known for taking a stand for the people, speaking up and utilizing his voice.

Favorite Artist / Director

Steven Spielberg has to be the one of the best directors / film makers that I know, and for that I look up to him. IMBD says, "Undoubtedly one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film." Steven Spielberg has such a passion for the things he does, and lets no critic stand in his way.

For those who don't know who Steven Spielberg is, he was the director for: Saving Private Ryan (1998), Three of Spielberg's films—Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993). I am assuming you have heard of at least one of these.

To this date, Steven Spielberg's determination in film making can not be matched. I went to go see the movie Super 8, which was produced by Steven Spielber, in June of 2011. It is now August and he has worked on 27 other movies since then. Including the well-known Transformers movie.



A cool thing I just found out about is that he is working on the movie Men in Black III, which everyone knows stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.His ability to keep going fascinates me and makes me want to have the amount of integrity, that he has in his work, in mine.

My favorite artist

Being the first 11 year old drummer ever to win the worlds biggest drum competition at his, Tony Royster jr. is by far my favorite artist. Ever since iv been playing the drums Tony has always been my favorite artist because when i first heard him play it was astonishing and incredible and ever since then i could never find someone that was a good as him. Classmates could benefit from knowing tony because he is known throughout the world for playing with different artist like Jay-Z and other hip-hop producers. So if your listening to a certain style of music and the drumming is very noticeable its most likely to be him!

Annie Leibovitz (is god)

Annie Leibovitz is the most amazing photographer. She started taking black and white film pictures as a young child and moved to color film when she got to college. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute as a painting major. When she took a night photography class she realized her real passion and changed majors. As a student she began working for a San Francisco magazine about music which later become Known as The Rolling Stone.

Annie immediatly became known as a talented photographer for her raw and innovative work. She has mastered B&W film, Color Film, and digital. After over a decade of shooting artistic pictures of famous people for magazines, she ventured to Europe to take pictures of war. She was able to master the art of street photography and documentary photography during her time overseas. She witnessed a lot and sacrificed a lot for her art during that time. She now runs a successful studio in Manhatten and has a daughter. She claims that she will take pictures until the day she dies.

The reason Annie is my personal artistic hero is because she is the ultimate master of her trade. She has been succesful as creating amazing art, and selling it. She was able to master film and digital, photojournalism, street photography, and studio photography. She is a living legend who will always be idolized. She has also set the standard for photographers today, and has inspired many young artists.

I can relate to her because I too was a painter primarily, and I recently realized my love of photography. Annie Leibovitz has inspired me to use my talent to build my career. Her success is something for me to look up to and aim for. She also showed me not to be afraid to take risks with your medium. At first she was hesitant to use digital, but she worked hard at it and is now one of the best digital photographers in the world.

She is also a very intuitive person. All of her work is given a lot of thought and meaning. She wrote a memoir recently which is written beautifully and shows her intelligence. I look to Annie's carrer for guidance when I think about the direction in which to take my art.

Michael Bublé

As if you couldn't already tell from my lack of a creative title for this post, my favorite artist is Michael Bublé. My dad has been an avid fan since I was in grade six. He found interest in his music, because his genre is often compared to that of Frank Sinatra, whose music my old man grew up with.

I didn't start gaining full interest and appreciation towards his music until about eighth grade, when my grandmother passed away. She as well, was quite fond of the Bublé.

When my family and I were driving up to Minnesota for the funeral, my dad played his music the whole ride there. I never really shared a great connection with my dad, and Michael Bublé helped mend that. He brought a bond together between my dad and I, that I am so very thankful for.

When I started to gain full interest in his music, my dad was pleased. He started talking to me about him more, and lending me his CD's (which my dad is a bit of a stickler when it comes to lending out his music). So this made the bond between my dad and I stronger. I think my dad was happy to see that we finally shared a common interest.

Whenever I'd log onto Ticketmaster, and see that Michael Bublé would be in town for part of the leg of his tour, I would run to my dad, and beg for tickets to the see the show. Unfortunately, Michael would often visit Chicago at the most inconvenient times for my family; so my dad would promise me that we'd catch him next time.

This past June, as a belated birthday gift, my dad bought me four tickets to see his show in Milwaukee. I got to choose who I wanted to bring along with me. I of course, chose my dad. Along with my pops, I brought my mother, and loving boyfriend.

Needless to say, the concert was complete magic. Michael Bublé is an amazing artist; his voice is angelic, and extremely breathtaking. The man himself, is a complete heartthrob. He likes to get extremely intimate with his audience, and makes you feel as if you're the only person in the room. He's an extremely funny, and charming man, and can make any woman swoon, I almost guarantee it.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is an artist who I have always admired for his ability to take such simple objects, such as a Campbell's soup can, and turn them into art. I enjoy the simplicity of his work, while at the same time, his pop art is so vivid and bright. While I am aware that some people do not consider his soup can art, I think that if that is what he wanted to create, then he did so very well.

Andy Warhol was able to take basic items you would see on a daily basis, and transform them into works of art. I can relate to his style of transforming simplicity into beauty because when I am writing I will take a simple thought or experience and turn it into a funny or interesting story.

I think people might benefit from trying to understand Warhol's art because it displays a different take on modern art. Although many people do not consider modern art 'real' art, I still feel people should take into consideration the thought process or emotions that go into creating modern art. Personally, I think modern art and abstract art are both extremely important because they really make you think rather than just looking at a painting and knowing what it is and understanding it right away.

Favorite Artist

Having to choose one artist can be really difficult, but i would have to choose

David LaChapelle

His style of art is very unique and he doesn't set limits to his ideas.
The way he sets up his ideas are very out there.
Many people seem to look down on his work especially because he has taken religious values and added his own thought and vision to it.
He takes risks BIG risks which makes him work more freely, unique, and without boundaries.
His art work catches the eye of many audiences. Good or bad, in the end hes receiving the attention.

The reason why i love his art so much is because his thought process to me seems way different then others he makes sure he takes risks. He creates the art for himself, he expresses just how he feels. Which lets others know not to be scared of taking BIG risks with your form of art, just to express whatever it is you're thinking.

He takes his ideas and screws them all together no matter how weird or out there it may look in the end. .
But really there's no end.

My Personal Favoite!

My favorite artist is a man by the name of Shawn Carter. For those who do not know who he is, he is a very successful musician and has been since 1989. He also goes by the stage name of Jay-z. Jay-z is a hip hop artist who has released eleven solo albums and has sold more than 50 million records world wide. He also made two collaboration records with R&B legend R.Kelly that went platinum and worked with Alternative Rock star group Linkin Park. Jay-z was once a student to the late great, Notorious BIG (Christopher Wallace) from whom he learned his knowledge of Hip-Hop and skills as a writer before his sudden murder in 1997. Jay has also branched from Hip Hop and started his own clothing label, record company, chain of night clubs, alcohol, and is a part time owner of the New Jersey Nets! Jay-z also introduced us to Kanye West! Anyone could benefit from becoming a fan of Jay-z because not only is he a famous and successful recording artist, he is a renaissance man, becoming a master to more than just being a Hip Hop artist, but also being a business man.