Coming to OSU, I thought that I probably wouldn’t be able to fit in or make friends easily. That was true. However, I found that I have community. In becoming a part of arts scholars, I found community. There are so many people that share similar interests with me, artsy stuff that most people don’t engage in. For the first time in my life, I don’t feel alone in my creativity. I went to a very small highschool; I was the only one who drew well. That is not an understatement, or a flex. Next semester, I plan to engage even more within my arts scholars community. You know, take on more leadership opportunities as well. I want to even try and broaden our community. I feel as though everyone could use a little color in their life, literal meaning included. Art has given me a way to release stress from the overwhelming amount of academic work. It allows me to take a “breather”, so to speak. I couldn’t imagine taking all of these classes without my minor in theatre, or my work in arts scholars. I want to try and spread our community all over campus! I am so excited for this next semester as an arts scholar! I also found community when I became an office assistant for my dorm hall. I would say hi to people I didn’t even know. Often times, I found myself saying more than just hi. I began to ask people questions like, “How was your day?”, “what have you eaten today?”, “Study buddy?”. I feel as though the people in my dorm are sort of like my second family in a sense. So even though I don’t have very many friends, I am content. And I know that with time, I will most likely find new friends. It took me years to develop my friend group back at home, and they will most definitely be my friends till death. Another fear that I had coming to osu, would be that I wouldn’t do so well with my grades. Which ended up happening. However, I now know what I need to do for the next semester, and I guarantee you I will not do bad again. I’m learning that when you set an intention for yourself, whatever it is you set will most likely happen. Coming in, I told myself that I wasn’t going to make friends, that I wasn’t going to do well. This semester is going to be different, simply because of my new intentions that I’ve set. I have also grown a lot. I have learned self control and discipline. I have learned leadership skills through my time as an OA. I have learned a lot about what it is that I plan to do with my life. I have learned how to manage my time and priorities. I have finally started to make my bed every single morning, never before done in my life. So, I can see the growth! I am excited to see what else I blossom into. It’s unfortunate that I had to learn the hard way, but at least I learned. And I am ready to take on the second semester at OSU! 

During our Short North Neighborhood Adventure, my group members and I stumbled upon a small art gallery. “Lindsay Gallery” was written in bold white, capital letters across the small studio’s mounted sign. We were all intrigued, and we decided to go inside to get a better look at the art exhibitions. After entering the narrow entrance of the red brick building, we were greeted with paintings of naked people. The ribs and facial bone structures of the nude were incredibly pronounced. The color of the bodies was created with great detail. The warmth of the lips, eyelids, nipples, elbows, and knees was painted using a vibrant pink. The coldness of the various shadows around the body was painted using a dark blue. All of the pieces were astonishing; however, there was one painting in particular that grabbed my eye’s attention. I also figured out the name of the artist who brought these pieces to life. “Heart Full of Daybreak, Head full of Light” by Joey Monsoon. The name of this painting was also very striking to me.

After viewing the piece for what seemed like forever, I couldn’t help but notice how the painting made me feel. There was something about the woman’s eyes that screamed, “I see you looking at me, and I don’t even care.” All of the other paintings were of people whose eyes were looking off into the distance, or down by their feet. However, her eyes were looking dead straight into mine. Moreover, I could also feel a sense of confidence exuding from the lady’s facial expression. She was so content with her body and didn’t mind showing it. It gave me a sense of confidence in my appearance as well. The painting made me feel a strong love for all of my body, imperfections and all. That is when I decided to use this piece for inspiration in the making of my own.

The medium that I chose to use for the creation of my piece is watercolor and pencil/pen. I have always drawn in black and white. I think it would be very fun to add color to my work, and I heard that watercolor was very difficult to manipulate. I wanted something challenging to stop me from getting bored and losing motivation. To conclude, I feel as though I will love the final product. I believe that the most taxing aspect of this piece will be thinking of what to call it. I am so excited, and I can’t wait to get started!

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation includes both a description of the artifact and a reflection on why it is important to you, what you learned, and what it means for your next steps.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]