On sunny days under a tall sequoia, I take out a palette and paint the colors of the four seasons, thinking of the girl I tutored through the “Bound Together” program at All Saint Episcopal Church in Michigan.Green captures the excitement in her eyes on the way from school, while pale violet red expresses her shy voice when we first met. 

 

Art excites me. I love the deep blue of the sky, the delicate yellow and gold halo developing around the edges of the leaves, signaling that a change is coming, and so I put it in my painting. It helps me honor the world around me, its aura. It’s the use of complementary colors that makes the finished art piece more magnificent. Art, after all, celebrates our differences. 

 

Art inspires me. It’s a place where everyone is welcomed, a place that unites people beyond language and cultural barriers. Art taught me that, despite our differences, we are all as intimate and intense as the beautiful clash of yellow and purple.  I hope to use every shade at my disposal to make the campus community around me a brighter and more colorful place.