College Admissions Essay: The Value Of Photography

Observation is my education. People are my content. Photography is my medium. All my life I’ve been “nosey,” a trait I believe stems from an inherent interest in the world and human nature. This curiosity led me, at a very young age, to the camera.

Because my parents are both artists who work internationally, I have grown up in many places, including New York. The city is a visual feast for which I have a perpetual hunger. It holds so much life. It seems as if one could witness every emotion on a single street. We exist so near to one another; and yet, everyone is a stranger. I am fascinated by people and their emotional complexities and journeys. Photography gives me rare access to these things. It gives me the chance to explore and invest in the individuals around me–familiar and not — and to

Roll 1, Shots 1 - 6: I sit in Central Park, listening to The Velvet Underground’s Sunday Morning, trying too hard to make an average Sunday morning sentimental. I observe children playing sports and grasping at their last days of summer, the last days of freedom, juicing these days to a pulp that refreshes them in the heat. They play in desperation, one shared by all of New York in these final days of warmth. The ice cream in my hand is melting, shedding tears of vanilla. It must be sad to melt, I think. I watch a mother assist her daughter in learning how to walk. The daughter falls and cries. I wonder, does this child feel failure as hard as I do? A man laughing and a woman crying pass me simultaneously. Two humans expressing opposite emotions, crossing each other’s paths without care or notice. A short, yet beautiful clash of happiness and sadness. I walk to the D train, a fantastic place to capture human nature. I observe the statues around the park as I go, pondering all that they must witness. I pass by a trash can of fresh flowers, a sad sight. I take a photo. On the