Sophie Worthington

Personal Statement

In 7th grade, I went on a field trip to New York and New Jersey for my art class. This

experience opened my eyes to so much and, in some ways, influenced my artistic career today.

We visited the main museums like the MET, MOMA, and the Guggenheim museums to explore

all the paintings, sculptures, and all other artwork they had. We were allowed to bring

sketchbooks and draw to our hearts content, and I did just that. Seeing all the Greek marble

sculptures with details that make them look almost alive, historic and famous paintings like

“Starry Night,” furniture from the 1700’s, ancient Egyptian buildings transported inside the

museum, and medieval armor, it really struck my creative spirit and pushed me to create. During

the trip, I was surrounded by my friends and classmates who were talented artists, and the many

amazing works, I begun to feel my art was not up to par, I couldn’t capture the realism of the

sculptures like my classmates did or configure the proportions like the original artist and began

to self-deprecate my work. Stunning paintings began to deplete my drive to create because I

thought I’d never be as good. We got to a section in one of the museums that showed a popular

artists early work and it shocked me. The artist had many drafts, scraped ideas, and some

beautiful works that were painted over in frustration and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Even

famous artists struggle with their self-confidence. My slump was lifted with the thought that

every time I draw or create something, I am improving. No matter how small, its still better than

something I drew years ago.

Going on that trip really kicked off my love of art in all shapes and forms. I can spend

hours looking at old paintings, sculptures, carvings, and even fashion, because it inspires me to

create and improve my craft. I love learning and learning about past art and fashion movements
really sparks my creativity and pushes me to draw stunning things like those of the past. I will

never forget that trip and hope to go back and just one day spend the day drawing and getting

inspiration from artists before me.

That trip and my love of art made me want to peruse it in a career in some way. I’ve

always been good with kids and have strong leadership skills, so my mind went to teaching as

my mentorship. Luckily, the very teacher who took us on the trip to New York is none other than

my mentor today. She inspired me in my art career to go outside my boundaries and use my

creativity to its full capacity when I was in her art class, and now, she inspires me to be a great

teacher. She shows me teaching is fun, and you get to use your creativity, learn something new

every day, and potentially, change someone’s life.