Prompt #1 (freshman applicants)
Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or
school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
When I was growing up, I lived
with my great grandmother who was a painter in her days. While looking at her
paintings and her art collection, I could see they were beautiful to look at, although
I didn’t fully understand what the pieces were saying. Through such exposure to
Korean art, I vaguely became aware of the concept of beauty.
I also painted by myself,
trying to copy my great grandmother’s work. But as time went by, I started
painting my own impressions and feelings that I got from her art pieces. What I
enjoyed the most then was getting praised for my work from her. With the
praise, she also taught me that painting was not just an act of labor and
technical skills, but also a mental activity. She even said that painting was
comparable to a highly intellectual activity, which I couldn’t fully understand
at the time. It was through these interactions with my great grandmother that I
decided to always have art as a part of my life.
During my teenage years, I
visited as many exhibitions and art museums as I could. While my friends
preferred going to amusement parks with their friends and boyfriends, I went to
Insa-dong and Samchung-dong, places in Seoul where many art galleries were
located, to appreciate art works and then walk into one of the small street
cafes to reflect on art and artists, as well as write notes on my thoughts I
acquired that day. Once in a while, I made sure that I attended grand
exhibitions at major art facilities such as the Art Center in Seoul, where
major art exhibitions of artists like Shagal, Monet, Klimt, and Andy Warhol were
held. Through all these activities, I have developed a strong inclination
toward studying the meaning of art and beauty in college.
Another interest I have formed
was studying the story behind each art work. Just as my great grandmother told
me her stories contained in each of her paintings, so I have been curious on
why Klimt drew those incomprehensible patterns in expressing sensual love
between a man and a woman. Although I may not know the basis for his drawings,
I am sure that it has to do with many aspects of his background -- his
nationality, ethnicity, religion, or philosophy. And the more I dug into the
story, the more I understood the work. Now, when I look at an art piece, I see
myself drifting away from the piece, and entering into another window through
which I could see the life and thoughts of the artist. In university, I would
like to expand my understanding of art by studying art history of the world so
that I can understand how the world thinks about art and beauty.
Prompt #2 (all applicants)
Tell us about a personal quality, talent,
accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about
this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the
person you are?
“Mommy,
since you’re going to buy me these anyways, can I have something else for my
birthday? Birthday presents should be something exciting, not something I need
every day.”
This
is what I said to my mother when she bought me pajamas and socks for my 5th
birthday. My mother said she was a bit surprised to hear something like that
coming from a 5-year old. Since then, she paid close attention to my words and
thoughts, and respected my opinion whenever possible. I think because of her, I
was able to develop my distinct personality.
One time in grade school, my teacher gave the class an
assignment which was to bring something through which one can express oneself.
Some brought papers and crayons to draw themselves and some brought musical
instruments to play. I, to everyone’s surprise, made a picture album filled
with pictures from my past, a drawing about my future years in middle school
and high school, and finally a poem about my life as a mother and grandmother. To
the startled teacher and classmates I explained that I wanted to show my
friends my past since they had not seen my past and also express my future
since nobody knew what my future would be. I didn’t work on my present state
because they see me every day. After my explanation, there was a short silence
in the classroom. Then my teacher, with a great smile, thanked me for sharing a
unique perspective.
Then in high school, I experienced a similar incident. In
our music class, we were tested on the song “Memory” from the musical Cats.
While many of the students tried their best to mimic opera or musical singers
in order to get high scores in technical points, I sang the way I wanted to. As
soon as I started singing, there were giggles among my classmates, who pointed
fingers at me as if I was making a fool out of myself. I was disturbed by the
commotion for a second, wondering if I should continue. But I thought whatever
the result may be, I should finish what I had started. When I came back to my
seat, some classmates remarked, “Why did you sing like a little kid? It’s
supposed to be classical singing!” Just like them, I was really worried about
my performance. At the end, however, something shocking happened. When the
scores were released, I ended up being the only one with an A+ in the entire
school. My music teacher explained that I was the only one with my own color
while others were all trying to mimic what they thought the song should sound
like.
Throughout my life, I have become firmer in maintaining
my own color not only in my expressions through art but also in the way I
think. And in whatever I do, I will not give up my unique color. I don’t think
that I am special or better than others. I just think that my spectrum of color
is as useful as others’ and that I need to keep that spectrum, as many things
in life are made possible through the combination of many different colors.
