Every single time I am asked by people to tell my
own story, I would like to entertain them but there is nothing special about me.
There are no better words than ordinary, normal or average to describe my
school years. I was just a student
following the school curriculum and becoming complacent under my parents’ care.
Most of the students in Korea spend their time in school from 8 A.M. to 11 P.M.
and my life was no exception. It was hard to find enough time to figure out
what I am really interested in and what I want to be in the future. Living the typical,
boring life of a Korean student means following the curriculum; however, art
class was the only thing that kept me interested. In my second year of high
school, I started to take art seriously. But it was hard for someone who did
not attend art high school to get in to an Art College in Korea. This is
because students are accepted through a drawing exam that is held once a year, as
opposed to a portfolio. So, having an amazing drawing expertise is crucial
to gain an education in art and I was not confident that I was good enough to
beat other students who were preparing for art careers from their youth. So I
eventually decided to keep doing art as a hobby.
The turning point in my life comes after my high
school graduation. I took an exam similar to SAT in the U.S., to apply for university.
I applied to major in engineering based on the result of the exam. If asked why
I applied for engineering, I would say because it was a safe option in terms of
future employment and the content of the major was an extension of the studies
I had completed in high school. While attending
school, I had a lot of free time and naturally, I started thinking about my
life. I asked myself what I am good at,
what makes me happy and what I like. The answer was art.
To plan my future, having enough time to
concentrate on myself was essential so I took a year off. I researched and made
a list of schools that would give me the chance to learn art professionally. As
I expected, it was impossible to go to art school in Korea without taking a drawing
exam and I started to consider studying abroad. To meet the requirements, I studied
English and made a portfolio. Most
part of my portfolio consisted of drawings and paintings. I believe that a
profound understanding of subjects is necessary in the process of making
artworks. After a much thought, I decided to choose my surroundings and myself
as the theme of my portfolio. I enjoyed taking pictures of my family, friends,
my dogs, and landscapes. These all inspired my portfolio and even now I usually
take ideas for my works from them.
Anyway, long story short, I got
accepted to some art schools and of them, I chose Ringling. Honestly, even
though I was not sure which major would fit me, I applied for Computer
Animation because it is what Ringling was well known for and I believed that I
could change my major if it did not fit me. Freshmen
year was really hard in terms of getting used to a new life in the States such
as speaking a different language and learning art for the first time but it was
very helpful and I was satisfied.
In my first semester of sophomore year, for several
weeks, I seriously considered changing majors. I felt overwhelmed learning animation
software called Maya. It is so true that there is huge gap between being in audience
watching a film and being the artist making it.
However, I am getting used to the program and I feel happy when I finish
each project. I find myself thinking about animation when I look at the
movements that I didn’t care about in my daily life before. This is what makes
me passionate.
Except for the educational side, all these things I
went through made me grow up inside. Being far away from my family, I have
learned how to be independent and mature. Also in terms of building
relationships, I have made many good friends and overcome a lot of obstacles
such as cultural differences and the language barrier. I really appreciate
everything I am experiencing here and cannot wait for the things that will
happen to me in the future.
