One of the greatest experiences that I have been exposed was brushing a paint brush against a wide range of different material, and transferring an idea from my mind into a real, picturesque work of art. I’m modest about my work in art; very few people know that I have a talent, and thoroughly enjoy transferring images from my imagination onto canvas. Painting puts me into a tranquil state of mind. If I were to paint on the Beta Bridge at the University of Virginia, I would want people to experience the same mindset that I have, instead of drawing a “Goooo Hookies sign. I have always been someone who wants to see change in this world. I have persevered from many tragic experiences in my life, including the death of a friend in a drinking and driving incident, the ending of Brandon Holt, my neighbor’s cousin, and the suicide committed from my aunt. I created in my high school a Student’s Against Destructive Decisions Chapter with in my high school, and successfully promoted the consequences of drinking and driving, drug abuse, and suicide. I strive and education myself further each day in order for me to have the ability to continue that prevention in college. …show more content…
On the bridge, first I would paint a quarter of the bridge black and dreary, and gradually use the ombre effect, and would daub and splash a chaos of vivid colors, creating almost a washed tie dye effect as the background. Immediately following, I would paint several different messages that would correlate with sucicde prevention. The background effect I would use would make the vivid colors become more prominent, and it would clearly demonstrate the transition of a world full of darkness becoming overpowered by color and
Don’t let apathy and indifference be the silence that kills dreams. Help me make a difference in the lives of the people you know and love, make a difference in your community and your world.
Balko, Radley. "Let My Students Drink." Reason. (Feb. 2009). Web. 19 Feb. 2016. John McCardell was a former college president who took his experience dealing with underage drinking and decided to develop an organization called Choose Responsibly. The organization supports lower the legal drinking age. He later developed the Amethyst Initiative to help campuses across the U.S. to join together. In the article, Mr. McCardell gives his reasons for starting the growing movement. The purpose of this article is to inform other college delegates and leaders about the organizations they can join they share the same beliefs. It was published in a magazine that discusses rising issues to help promote the initiative. The article is unique due to its interview arrangement which gives it a more personal feel. My thesis is supported by this article because it provides me with
Public art conquers so much more than the simple task of making the street a little easier to look at. It involves those who created it, those who supplied the means to create it, and those whose lives it continues to impact. Wall paintings in particular take an important role in working for a greater good. Judith F. Baca, a Hispanic-American woman and artist- activist has contributed an unaccountable amount to the mural movement in Los Angeles. She has accomplished this by giving individuals the chance to create art and develop a sense of pride, she has taught younger generations a respect for their ethnic identity, and from the many walks of life that continue to view her work in everyday places she has encouraged social change.
In the year 2001 more then 800,000 injuries occurred in the United States from alcohol related accidents, while more than 40% of automobile crashes were due to the abuse of alcohol (MADD homepage). These overwhelming statistics are just a small piece of the very large puzzle that stuns the nation with deaths every year. For some people, these statistics are more than just phrases on paper they are words that are haunting reminders of the tragedies and losses they have experienced in their lifetime. One such mother was so distraught by the loss of her thirteen year old daughter Carrie Lightner, who was killed by a drunk driver, began the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). On the other side of the country another mother was feeling the same pain as her five and a half month old daughter, Laura Lamb, took her last breath after a drunk driver struck their car. Together these women joined forces to share their sufferings with others in the same situation, while striving to prevent future accidents and conditions such as the ones they had just experienced.
Main Point I: I’d like to start off by talking about the penalties of drinking and driving. Did you know that drunk driving is the nation’s most frequently committed violent crime? A chronic drunk driver is a person who has driven over 1,000 times before being caught. They do not respond to social pressures, law enforcement, and the messages that have been combined to reform the drinking and driving behavior of our society.
Many temptations are faced in college culture and one of them is underage drinking and driving. Underage drinking and driving has essentially become an epidemic, rapidly developing among today’s youth. College culture has come to encourage drinking and driving through the places and people that surround the students (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, October 2002). Some people don’t see underage drinking as an issue, when in fact it is a huge issue that every teenager will face. Since underage drinking is illegal people want to rebel by drinking; additionally, alcohol is really easy to get ahold of in college. Since many students are going to drink, the first line of defense is to educate students about the effects of alcohol and what can happen if students do drink and drive. Unless we are able to put a stop to underage drinking and driving through education, and a system called smart start the problem wont get any better.
Drunk driving is a problem that we hear about every day and it is something that effects everyone, but it only becomes real when it affects us directly. What we don’t know is when a problem like drunk driving will become “real” for us. Drunk driving is an issue that has taken a toll on our country and should be stopped. Drunk driving has been an increasing problem for many years. It effects not only the driver but all of society. The good thing is there are many ways the percentage of drunk drivers can be reduced. Although many people believe drunk driving doesn't affect them because they don't drink and drive, it is something that affects the whole community.
Another experience that has shaped my decision to become a school counselor has been my continuing work with VCU’s Addiction and Women’s Health: Advancing Research and Evaluation (A.W.H.A.R.E.) Research Team under the direction of Dr. Dace Svikis. With the A.W.H.A.R.E. Research Team, I work with at-risk pregnant women. I have had the opportunity to inform women about our studies, conduct interviews, and enter data into the SPSS dataset. However, more importantly I have witnessed the struggles faced by people with limited resources. Through my experience, I know that my interest lies in directly influencing individuals to b...
Up until this year, before taking the class intermediate composition, I thought I was a terrible writer. I was right. Writing isn’t something that I enjoy doing, nor am I good at. Writing is difficult for me because I’m not very good at explaining things in a professional manner, that can be easily well written. While writing you are expected to make little to no mistakes, which is not something I’m great at. I am so much better at explaining things with verbal words rather than written words. I had not taken any extra writing classes before this year rather than the mandatory ones. Like I had stated before, I hate writing, with a passion. I dread writing anything, especially an essay for school, like this one. I’m
Initial Reflective Essay When I first thought of what I wanted to do with my life after college, the first thing I thought of was helping people. The next step in deciding what I wanted to do with my life was to examine how I could accomplish this goal. I started pondering and I was thinking about how much I love to take care of my body. Health care and personal hygiene has always been an important factor in my life. So I decided to major in Health Sciences.
Growing up I had always wanted to create change and hoped to help for the greater good. During my time, so far, at the University of Calgary, some of the courses that I felt drawn to were in Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology; these subjects were some of the most fascinating subjects I hav...
Over the East River in New York City stands the Brooklyn Bridge, connecting the Brooklyn and Manhattan boroughs. From end to end, the bridge spans 6,016 feet and weighs a heavy 14,680 tons. Ever since construction on the Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883, the bridge has offered a safe route with scenic views to tens of thousands of tourists and commuters who have traveled it via train, car, pushcart, and bicycle. The history behind the Brooklyn Bridge is definitely intriguing as well as important because many fatalities occurred in the construction process, including one which occurred before construction on the bridge even started. Also, a lot of workers, time and money were used in building the bridge. In addition,
Having the ability to shape a student’s life is truly a gift; so many of my art teachers inspired me to follow my dreams. After hearing Taylor Mali’s poem, What Teachers Make, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher: I want to make a difference. Mali spoke with so much passion as he answered the age old question ‘what do teachers make.’ “I make parents see their children for who they are and who they can be,” this quote really moved me because I think in a lot of situations students’ talents are overlooked by their parents (Mali.) My art teachers always had their hand in the community creating sculptures for the local fire department or crocheting hats and baby booties. I feel good teaching shows students how to apply the knowledge they learned. I want to model what they learned so they can apply it to their everyday life. I attend to teach my students to be active members of society and be aware and respectful of others’ culture, and teach them how to apply the skills they learn in art in their everyday life.
While I can’t change the decisions I’ve made in the past, I can certainly learn from my mistakes for a better future. I’m rearranging my priorities so that alcohol will no longer be included in them, and I will make sure that cigarettes continue to stay out of my life. My experiences at college along with the knowledge I’ve learned from this class have made me realize what’s most important to me and to always keep one thing in mind: focus on the good, eliminate the bad.
I have been through so many things in my life and I have made many bad decisions. The best thing with making wrong decisions are learning from them. One of the worst decisions in my life was dropping out of college when I was younger. One day I’m hoping to show people no matter how old your are or what your have been through, you can still go back to school and help people but it first starts with yourself. Deciding to go back to school was hard, but I wanted to make a difference in someone’s life.