Before I begin, I’d like to acknowledge to my readers (and to myself, as I believe it sounds as humbling as it is true) how much I would love to focus this essay on the amount of time I’ve spent paving sidewalks, restoring a stranger’s peeling picket fences, or BBQ’ing dinner for the inhabitants of a homeless shelter downtown. Believe me, I would love to say, “I’ve done A, B, C, and D-and-a-half, so therefore, I am deserving of $(this much money) for school.” However, I personally feel that it wouldn’t be suitable for my “Personal Statement,” because in my eyes, those things are often planned by the volunteer’s committee or organization. Now don’t get me wrong — every one of those were kind gestures, and I certainly am not suggesting that you try to stray aside from the usual college Personal Statement structure. But I think, as the author, I have the right to share with you the things that I find most relevant. I find it more self-satisfying when spontaneous opportunities to help certain individuals arise, and even more so, when you can help them by doing something you love. In my case, this is — and will always be — writing. By pursuing an education in Screen Writing, I firmly believe that I’ll be able to write for a cause greater than my own self-fulfillment.

For these first eighteen years of my life, I have been a writer not by profession, but by heart. Writing is part of my foundation, and has stemmed from my love for good stories. To all this, I accredit my mother. She is the one who has given me my first taste of story in the form of literature. Before I could crawl, she would read to me from abridged novels and Disney Classics. In intermediate school, I was introduced to the writing styles of Orwell, Hemmingway, Mark Twain, Alexandre Dumas, and Jonathan Swift, just to name a few. I was intrigued by the eccentric nature of these stories in contrast to contemporary works I’d gown accustomed to, such as Meyer’s Twilight. These stories were richer, their words presented in such a romantic fashion. I, in turn, began to mimic their writing styles in the pieces I’d write in my leisure time – being an avid reader had turned me into an eager writer – until I was able to distinguish my own “voice.” Towards the end of my elementary school education, I tried my own hand at spinning full-fledged tales, and this cured my short bout of depression (leading to a case of mild anorexia), which came as the after effects of my parents’ separation seeped in. 

Around this age, I was allowed to go to the theatre with my friends; I began to see that storytelling is not limited to the bound pages of a book. Movies give you a visual, and to some, are more preferable than having to imagine what everything is supposed to look like in a story told on paper. The crews who work around the clock behind the scenes – they do all the imagining for you; yet, after the screen fades to black, more room for thought is left and a rebuttle is invited. You know, cinema is an amazing thing in so many aspects. Besides the artistic technicalities of making a motion picture, I believe cinema brings people together. There’s something special about being in a theatre with your friends and a bucket of popcorn. You follow the story of a relatable set of characters, and then, have that “so what did you think?” conversation with your peers as you’re walking out of the theatre.  

The glamour and limelight that tends to surround Screen Writers, Directors, and any profession involved with the “Biz,” isn’t what draws me in. I am choosing to pursue Screen Writing because I know that in a movie or television show, people oftentimes enjoy seeing a sort of forged version of their own lives and situations. When wanting entertainment, I see that people will look for something silly, spurious that can be dismissed as passing folly, or they look for reality,something that they can relate themselves to — either of which can be used not only to entertain an open-minded individual, but to shed light on something they might have overlooked, if they were not given the opportunity; cinema offers both. Because of the environment I grew up in, and the people I have been surrounded with, I’ve been granted room to grow as an inspired young writer, with vibrant stories to tell. Over the past few years, I’ve been blessed with a greater appreciation for film – even beyond seeing a story and it’s morals – because I’ve come consider the creative effort put into this by the many talented people who’ve managed to orchestrate stories that are so artistically, visually, and audibly profound, that at times, it provokes real emotions in people, even if the story and the characters in it are completely artificial. That’s what the mastered craft of story telling is — that’s what I want to be a part of.