The blood rushed out of my palm at incredible speed.

The razor sharp emerald

glass smacked the wooden table and instantly tears spilled out of my eyes and onto the
cement floor. My mother’s head spun as if it was going to fly off of her small frame as
she critically analyzed what had just occurred. The piece of split glass that my mother
had so carefully and precisely cut lay on the table cracked into microscopic pieces. No
longer would I be making the stained glass lamp I so desperately wanted to complete as
a gift. My salt stained cheeks became flushed as my mom quickly cleaned the stained
glass pieces and turned off the soldering iron. She hurried around the art studio located
in our basement as she pieced together how I incurred this injury. The tears from my ten
year old eyes were quickly wiped away with her apron; her rubber gloves were torn off of
her dusted fingers as she rummaged through the first aid supplies in the studio. She
looked deep into my tear-streaked adolescent face, exhaled deeply, and let out a sigh as
if to iterate all the things words could not express to a young child. My mother
continued to check the oozing wound for glass fragments, and then she bandaged the
palm of my tiny hand and caressed my face. She spoke to me words of love and
encouragement to never give up on art, for it may cause wounds but it will always patch
the holes in your heart.

Art and Design are my passions.

I have countless stories about the days I have spent in my mother’s art studio
which we now share. Mostly these stories include laughing until we could barely breathe
and talking about plans for future projects. Other stories include my father smoking his
old tobacco pipe and teaching me life’s important virtues. With parents such as these I
have been granted the strength to design my future.

I have been graced with many talents but the one that speaks volumes to those
who surround me is my resilience. ​I was born and raised in a house of merchants, those
who create and work for what they accomplish. My parents are high school sweethearts
who give life to everything they touch as well as inspire those around them. My mother,
a fine artist and industrial designer has instilled in me the creative potential to
masterfully create things of extraordinary beauty. My father, an engineer and
businessman, has given me the gift of drive, and the constant desire to organize,
discover, and shape my life. My hope is that through furthering my education I will be
able to establish a clear sense of how I will continue my family’s legacy as one of passion,
creativity, and graciousness.