The Art in Computer Science

When I was about eight years old, I stole for the very first and the very last time. It was a small drawing of the scrumptious Gingerbread House that Hansel and Gretel, the two lost kids, had been trapped inside by the evil cannibal witch. My ten year old cousin had drawn it perfectly with flawless storybook details and even some details from her own imagination; honestly, I’d never seen a better imitation of that gorgeous fairytale house. My cousin was a superb artist, one who could draw anything and everything. I used to admire her and, at the same time, envy her. I was in desperate need of something that was created and not just printed, and that led me to attempt to steal her work. I never got to actually steal that drawing; I hid it inside my jacket, but somehow my cousin sensed that something was missing from her desk of numerous other drawings and realized, soon enough, that I had taken her missing artwork. This incident taught me a valuable lesson that has stayed with me throughout my life, shaping my character and influencing my decision to pursue a career in computer science.

I always wanted her to draw me mermaids and superheroes, but she had always refused and told me to learn how to draw myself. I realized that I would never get a hand on those paintings created through careful brush strokes and wooden color pencils, so I started to draw myself, with red and black pens. I wasn't very good at it: I drew blobs and sticks but, for the very first time, I had control. I had control over what I drew, I had control over my supplies and how I used them, and -- best of all -- I had control over my newly found freedom to create absolutely anything on a blank piece of paper.

Today, I thank my cousin for catching me stealing her work. She ignited a passion in me that I had never realized I possessed. I call myself an artist, and my friends and peers are now semblances of the eight-year-old me, craving possession of my artworks created through careful brush strokes and wooden color pencils. When people started admiring my work, I started putting more and more effort into my creations. I spent long hours both outside and inside of school to develop the skill for creating visual art that is one of my greatest sources of pride. I took the most advanced of courses at school to further develop my skills and form an enormous, even unruly portfolio. I am now a holder of multiple medals, won in various art competitions, from Richardson Public Library Art contests to Visual Arts Scholastic Events. I have taught an eight-year-old how to draw and paint as one of my very first jobs. I spent more than 100 hours and still spending more hours volunteering at a daycare center, teaching and helping children create arts and crafts. I had the honor of having one of my artworks, called Man in Purple, be showcased at the Dallas Museum of Art.

My future major and academic goals are geared towards Computer Science as of right now. This fact may come as a surprise now that you have read my earlier paragraphs, but it's in no way a surprise for me. Computer Science, in many ways, parallels what I enjoy about art. The most important parallel that art draws with computer science is control. I have control over what I create, I have control over my language and how I code it, and I have control over my freedom to create absolutely anything on a blank Java file. Computer Science is, after all, about creating something out of nothing. That is exactly what I enjoy about art. Computer Science is itself about details and enjoying the detailed work that is put into creating software, about seeing it gradually form a purpose. The tiny errors I make when I code were an exact reflection of the tiny accidental brush or color pencil stroke I usually make in my drawings. I absolutely love debugging my code, almost as if I’m debugging my artwork to create a more aesthetically pleasing pattern. Being able to draw taught me to make mistakes and quickly fix them without much thought. It taught to me analyze details like a simple shine on the metal end of a shoelace; through this skill of analysis, I’ve developed a more refined eye for detail. This extra sense has succeeded in preventing me from making careless mistakes and in helping me quickly notice errors when I’m coding; it has also helped me write efficient code without much effort.

Although my extra-curricular activities may suggest a passion for the arts, my main passion lies in creating: creating artwork, creating software, and perhaps creating a new fusion of the two.