2 posts tagged “personal statement”

Here is my Personal Statement hopefully it will get me into grad school.  Comments are much appreciated (as long as they're nice).

“Wendy?”

 
I stood up, feeling disoriented. The combination of fluorescent lights and still-dilated pupils nearly stopping me, I tentatively walked down the stark white hallway. At the end of the hallway I made a left, following the doctor’s white lab coat into an almost empty room. Inside, the room was dark, the only light emanating from a computer monitor. The doctor clicked on my name and a cross section image of each of my eyes appeared on the screen. I saw them immediately, millions of gray dots like an ant farm in my retina. He didn’t have to tell me, I could see for myself. It was February 9, 2006, I had just finished my second degree in the Visual Arts, and I was going blind.

 
The news that I was going blind was a blow for which I was completely unprepared. My father was the one who was going blind. My father, the sixty-year-old retired chemist, was the reason we were at the Columbia Eye Institute. My father, not me. The doctor told me that we were lucky. He said that I probably wouldn't notice the effects of my retinal degeneration until I reached my fifties, and that neither of us would ever be completely blind. As an artist, the news that my time as a person with sight was finite did not seem lucky at all.

 
Over the next few months, I dealt with a myriad of emotions, primarily depression and denial. I had always identified myself as a painter. Now, the relationship between me and the canvas was nonexistent. I couldn’t bring myself to paint or to even think about the career as an art educator that I was preparing to embark upon.

 
It was a bright day in March 2007 when art and I were reunited. I was working in the stacks at the Albany Public Library, shelving nonfiction. I looked down at the cover of a true crime novel and was immediately struck by the yearbook photo of the slain teenager on the cover. I turned over the book to read the blurb, but couldn't. I was paralyzed. This poor person's life had been cut short by some horrific crime. It was suddenly clear to me how alive I was. As I wound my way through the metal shelving units putting books away, my mind raced with thoughts of time lost. I had wasted more than a year feeling sorry for myself.

 
Although I no longer view myself solely as a painter, I have come again to call myself artist. I have learned to broaden my definition of "artist," and have embraced the study of Art History, voraciously reading as many books as I can. I have also taken an active role in the Upstate New York arts community, most notably as the Vice President and strong creative force behind a local record label. Besides personal endeavors, I have also been practicing the art of educating. I currently work not only as a middle school special education assistant, but also as a dance teacher and a clerk at the local public library. The combination of these experiences has prepared me for pursuing graduate study.

 
It is my goal to obtain a Master’s in both Information and Library Science and Art History. After completing my studies, I would like to work as an academic art librarian at a university that would allow me to work both as an educator in the library and as an archivist and researcher at the gallery therein. It is my intention to use my remaining time with sight to help shape the vision of art for years to come.

I'm applying for graduate school.  Or so that's what I've been claiming for the last month or so.  In reality, I've been doing a lot of internet research and not actually getting anything done on my apps.  But yesterday that all changed.  I finally hunkered down and mapped out exactly what I have to do for each school that I am applying...it's somewhat daunting.  I've already taken the GRE, but it was in 2002, so I'm hoping they'll still accept my scores.  If not, that will be a major setback  I got my transcript request forms ready yesterday (as most of you know, I attended 3 undergraduate schools so that step is not as easy as it may sound) and started researching my personal statement.  I feel like I should have my personal statement/resume done before I request recommendations because I would like to send both things to my professors so they know why I am pursuing this course of study.  So much stuff to do!

Back to the personal statement.  What an ambiguous thing!!  I did so much reading last night about what to possibly include that my head was spinning.  I then went to bed feeling even more foggy about the whole thing than when I started.  Then I had this crazy dream that I was having dinner with an acquaintance and I was talking about the personal statement that I wrote when I was applying to be an undergraduate and how it probably got me accepted to every school that I applied.  I woke up feeling baffled, but strangely at peace with it.  I then used the 45 minutes before getting out of bed to formulate a plan of action for my personal statement and I think it's going to be good. 

I'm still having a few issues though, mainly because I am applying to two different types of programs.  The program I most want to get into is at Pratt and is a dual Art history/Library Science master's.  The other two programs are at Hunter and CCNY and are just Art history programs, with the intent that I will do the library part after the Art History part.  So in one statement I have to address being a librarian and the other I do not.  I think what I'll do is just write one statement with the librarian part in it and cut it out for the other schools.  We'll see.  Hopefully I will have a rough draft to post here later so I can get comments/suggestions from y'all.

Let the stress begin!