College Admission Essay to William and Mary College

College Admission Essay to William and Mary College :


Shor Bowman - Elk Garden - Virginia


Shor was sitting in his family’s living room when he decided what he would write about for his application essay. He remembered back to a time when the room was a different color, the furniture was in the style of the 1970s and he transformed it into his personal art gallery. That became the topic he would write about. While at Lebanon High School, he participated in mock trial, forensics and singing in the choir. He wrote this essay for William & Mary but chose to attend the University of Pennsylvania.


The Bowman Gallery - William and Mary College


The artist squinted his eyes and observed the work that had just taken shape before him. The colors were vibrant, seemingly glowing independently of the light in the room. The detail was exquisite. The woman’s arms were just in the right position to be playing the flute…the tiger seemed alive. Perfection had been achieved.


Detaching the work from the makeshift easel, he proceeded to change the page in the art book. “Hmm...What’s this?” he asked himself. “Max Ernst’s Oedipus Rex? Fabulous! I wonder if I have enough brown magic markers...” Placing another piece of white typing paper on the easel, he began to emulate yet another artistic masterwork to be hung proudly in the Bowmanden.


Art has always fascinated me and always been important in my life. From the day that I first discovered my mother’s 2,000-page college art books, the colors, images and worlds depicted on canvas have held special meaning for me. Henri Rousseau, Henri Matisse, Franz Marc, Marc Chagall - they all did and still do captivate my imagination.


However, as a child in kindergarten, I was unable to find many people that shared my interest in painting. Many of my friends would rather have watched Michelangelo and Leonardo beat up Foot Clan members instead of looked at their murals and sculptures. I decided that I had to do something to change this Philistine viewpoint. Perhaps they just needed exposure! A trip to the Louvre was out of the question, but a trip to the Bowman household was not.


Thus, I began working tirelessly at reproducing the marvelous paintings that I found in the books. Armed with Crayola markers, ballpoint pens and an easel I made, I reproduced the works of such artists as Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Vincent Van Gogh, Georgio DeChirico and Claude Monet. I didn’t view the task as labor, but I cherished it as entertainment and fulfillment. I loved reproducing such great works and being able to see how well my artistic talents were developing. When the dust had settled, I had reproduced 24 paintings in all. Considering the fact that an art display needed a gallery, I chose the Bowman family den as the location for the display. With the use of some scotch tape, the television room was transformed into a cultural mainstream, featuring works of the world’s finest artists. My friends, unfortunately, never came. However, visitors that my parents had were treated to the art gallery and allowed to see and experience culture (or at least its carbon copy) first hand.


As time for the Super Bowl came near, however, the gallery met with an unfortunate termination. Those drawings still exist and are definitely not forgotten. They serve as a testament to my ability and desire to create. They help to remind me that art is beautiful, that apathy will not do and that sometimes, enriching an intellectual environment requires that you get involved - sometimes to the extreme - and I will always be involved.


Why This Essay Succeeded


Through this essay Shor demonstrates he’s not afraid to be different and daring. At an early age, he was exposed to - and more importantly - interested in famous artists. While his friends watched TV, he created reproductions of famous artwork. Shor shares the roots of his desire to learn and explore that he clearly carries onto later in his life. By taking us inside of his head we see what he saw when creating his masterpiece copies.


When writing about abilities, you don’t always have to describe your current achievements which may be detailed in other essays or parts of the application anyway. You can, as Shor has, show the admission officers a window into your heart, the genesis of your passion.


College Admission Essay to William and Mary College - College Admission Essay to William and Mary College


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