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| Hello Sarah, I've been dragging through procrastination and writer's block for the past week. I suspect that my resulting papers haven't been up to snuff. If these paragraphs follow in that trend, I hope you'll overlook it. I may not be articulate, but I'm mighty like an ox and I like kids and young adults. I want to work in South Chicago because I don't understand neighborhoods like South Chicago or the people in them very well. My friends go to college: Hali is studying Slavic Linguistics and Chris is frustrated (in more ways that one) that he can't get a date. I work with kindergartners and mathematically-frustrated 10th graders. This leaves me out of the loop. Who are those people that live with gangs and boredom and without backyards and relaxation? How do I get the right idea about what's going on with them? This kind of ignorance precludes the understanding and empathy that I want (and, that I think I need to figure out in order to interact well with these people all about me), and that's pathetic. I want to work in South Chicago because these people are getting a raw deal. That's pathetic. I want to work at the Art Center because I think art is a productive way for people to cope with and express their opinions about themselves and their surroundings. That's an ability that needs to be spread around. Other programs I've been involved with have spent more time demanding kids stay in school than doing anything to make that school time compelling or interesting. I like the South Chicago Art Center because that kind of bargaining doesn't seem to play a part. I want to work in the garden because plants are something orderly, rational and GREEN. They don't move too quickly, they can be understood scientifically and smelling dirt and watching a slow arc of growth is satisfying. Gardens are good places for people to feel peaceful and sweaty, and that's an experience I want to enable. I want to get to know these kids so that I can get more comfortable explaining, teaching, and guiding other people. Need to cultivate some leadership. That's a role I want to wiggle into, because I like it, but one that I'm still learning how to perform well. I think I can give you excellent work (at least most of the time) and that I'll get a lot out of providing such services. I want to give it a shot.I hope that this email is not too long or irritating. These are the things I've been thinking about and what make me think I'd be a good fit for the Art Center. Let me know how this makes you feel. Thanks, Lucy |
