"I am without a doubt, a military brat; but unlike most military children, I was raised with loose rules. There was not many times where I was forced to think a certain way or to anyone's regulation manual. My parents always made it their obligation to let me and my siblings have our own opinion on life. Mine just so happened to be like the smaller number of right brain thinkers in our society, the creators/artists. I was 7 years old living in, what I thought had to be, the most culturally diverse city on earth. It was Lawrence, Massachusetts (one of six cities that can possibly be flooded by the Merrimack River). In Lawrence, our community would host festivals almost every month celebrating the heritage of people in the city. I remember walking to all the parades just to see how much different it was from the year before or if the Irish float used any other color besides the faithful orange, green, gold and silver. With less than a decade of age under my belt I could perceive the world in a way I knew was different. Every parent thinks their children have over active imaginations, but my mother knew mine was something of a different stature. This same year (1997), my mother came home from work one day with a gift for me. I received my first easel; set of paints, and drawing pencils. On this day I began to draw, and well. I remember always enjoying art class rather than the free time children are given for recess. It was a place where I was allowed to express my mind through my fingers, a feeling I still have every time I have a canvas and a world of mediums waiting to be used.
Since that year (1997), I've moved three places; attended two elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and two colleges. My parents are also in a divorce and I have a dog (two things I thought would never happen). I originally wanted to attend Pratt as my first choice in my undergraduate studies when I was a senior in high school. The first time I heard of Pratt and its opportunities, I was 14 years old visiting my cousins in Brooklyn. We always passed its campus when we drove back home to Virginia, avoiding the Flatbush Avenue traffic heading towards the Manhattan or Brooklyn Bridge. I did not apply to Pratt when I was a senior in high school because I knew the strain it would put on my parents, especially in times of separation. Inevitably the years went by and I am currently 19 years old living in Richmond, Virginia.
The majority of people that I meet will say that I have the opportunity of a lifetime. This is because I can receive in state tuition and attend the number one Undergraduate Bachelors of Architecture School in the country; Virginia Polytechnic Institute. They mean well, but I believe it is much more personal than the state borders and status of my bank account. I would have to be in a place where I can feel a world of opportunity and love the life that I am working towards. I have had plenty of time to think of a perfect place for me but the places I've been and the institutions I've enrolled have not made/kept me motivated enough to reach the success I desire. I do believe however that Pratt Institute can provide this motivation and stability for me. I would like to attend Pratt Institute because when I visit Brooklyn, it is the only place I feel at home. As I buy bagels from the Pratt Coffee shop I do not feel like an out of state visitor. Being around the campus humbles me even if only for a second, I do feel the same feeling I had when I was a child in Lawrence, Massachusetts sitting in the classroom painting. On Pratt's campus I feel like an artist. I feel that once again, there is no boundary on my opinion or what I prove myself to be. If I am allowed the opportunity to attend Pratt Institute in the Fall Semester 2009, I will; with all the wisdom I've acquired in my 19 years of breathing, begin my journey to becoming one of the best Architects this institution of higher education has to offer society."
MinaLo ...on some G shit
p.s. app is sent off pray for me
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