So Here's How It Works

Several people have expressed frustration at my earning of the Art Academic Letter. Well, here's the essay that I wrote to persuade the people in charge that I earned it. Maybe it will persuade you too.

I feel like I should explain my reasoning for applying for the art academic letter a little bit. At first glance, it may seem like I have not had very much to do with art, but really, art is very important to me and I try to incorporate it into many things that I do. While some may disagree with me, I feel that the Performing Arts classes that I have taken count towards fulfilling the requirement stated in the student handbook. I looked up the definition of Art, and some examples that I came up with are as follows: “Art:  The quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.” And “Art: The products of man's creative activities; works of art collectively, esp of the visual arts, sometimes also music, drama, dance, and literature”                –Dictionary.com as according to the World English Dictionary (Collins.)

So, while I may have not taken any classes at Timpview pertaining towards drawing or sculpting and such, I have clearly been involved in Music, Drama, Dance, and Literature, which are all—according to the very definition of art—various forms of artwork. I have obviously also maintained over a 3.7 GPA in all of these art classes, and exhibited much work from them, performing in concerts, at state, in plays, in solo/ensemble, and publishing work in the school newspaper. I even won a Gold Key award from the Alliance of Young Writers for a poem that I wrote.

In addition to all of this, I have also gotten some of my Etch-A-Sketch work published in the Yearbook on multiple occasions, as well as earning my Boy Scout merit badges for Art, Wood Carving, Basketry, Leatherworking, Music, and Drama—all of which have to do with being well versed in and skilled at art. I also very much enjoy drawing with sidewalk chalk or markers, and painting.

I have expressed self-motivation and willingness to learn on multiple occasions, some of which include having Riley Budd teach me how to throw a pot, and Joseph Moulton teach me some better drawing techniques. I have always been supportive of my friends in art and try to help them whenever possible.

With all of that said, I believe I have more than sufficiently met all of the requirements for the Art academic letter, and I look forward to doing even more with art in the future.

That said, when I highlighted the classes that I have taken that have to do with art, the better half of my high school transcript was colored yellow.  I also attached a copy of my etch-a-sketch work to the application. So, you can see that I really have earned the letter, seeing as it is really not the most prestigious art award out there. If you're mad because you've toiled and worked your whole life to earn the art letter, you have a lot more than a little piece of paper that says art on it, you have beautiful talent and beautiful paintings or sculptures or drawings, and you have much more capacity than I do to go out and use your ability to make something that is actually has real value, unlike the academic letter.