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What is your Passion?

9/15/2020

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By Shauna Somers Greene

Looking at 17-year-old Samantha Caballero's
Looking Up and Arbitrarily Losing Touch, I can see her passion. Surprisingly, she told the Sterling Heights Sentry that she only recently started painting. Yet she won a National Scholastic Award for this piece!


Passions can be obvious and out-front, but they can also be hidden, buried deep, and shown to none. A hobby is often a passion. Something you do a lot may be a passion. Sometimes you might not recognize you even have a passion, because you compare your “thing” to someone else’s. Sometimes it might be something that comes so easily to you, that you doubt it even is a passion. Sometimes the barriers to a passion are insurmountable. Yet, that little voice won’t die down. Your art, writing, voice, building and tinkering, or your love for stereos seeps out when you are home alone, or bored, or sad. I know this. I started writing when I was little. My writing was encouraged by my father, but he didn’t know how to support my creativity. I had no idea that anyone could grow up and write. I wrote and wrote in high school. My journals and poetry helped me survive dark times. I even published when I was young. Writing was my outlet and my friend. Yet, I went to college and was a science major. Then, one day I had a lightbulb moment. I realized that my passion for writing was also a talent, and that I could combine those two into work. 

In an article posted by National YoungArts, “Caballero, 17, said she has been drawing “forever,” and she frequently does digital illustrations. But then she added that her award-winning portrait is probably only her fourth or fifth painting ever.” 

I don’t know who encouraged Caballero, but I suspect that someone did. There are organizations that not only encourage creativity and expression, but they also offer money and recognition to young people who have it. Scholastic and National YoungArts are well known, but there are countless others. 

People around you can encourage and recognize your passion. This is what I do. This is what I am good at. And while I often neglect to support my own passions, I have this little magic that I can see someone else’s and bring it out. For this I am grateful.

For more information on Scholastic Awards, please visit artandwriting.org. For more about National YoungArts, please visit  youngarts.org. To read more about Samantha Caballero, please see this article:  Scholastic Gives Awards to Local Students.

Image:  Looking Up and Arbitrarily Losing Touch, Painting, by Samantha Caballero, Grade 12, Dwight D. Eisenhower High School, Shelby Township, MI. American Visions Medal. 


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Sharpen Your Pencils, People

8/15/2020

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My desk isn’t organized enough. My kids aren’t ready for back-to-school. Even back-to-school isn’t ready for back-to-school. There is no “there” to head to this fall. So what’s the point in preparing for fall at your desk or dining table?
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I have spent time this summer in webinars on organization, reading blogs on clutter-free advocacy, and I’ve been coached to put away laundry. I have found value in the wisdom of professional organizers, precisely because their philosophies and practices mirror the parts of myself that I am looking to put in order. It is aspirational, yet manageable. And anything manageable that brings about a flint of order means I have a better day. 

If the manageability of my desk, prioritizing my tasks, and marking red lines through them when completed, helps my day, then I can more easily advocate students taping off a corner of a table to create as their school.
I will encourage my kids to clear off their work-spaces, pull out binders, paper, and pens. I’ll make sure they work near an outlet and know how to find their assignments. I will shuffle through the last stacks on my desk, tick off some of my to-dos. Ultimately, I am able to encourage organization and preparation because I am not always organized and prepared. But, I know that my moments are more fluid and I am better able to own my progress toward even the smallest of goals if I am ready, uncluttered, and have a sharpened pencil. 

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How are Young Artists Moving Forward?

8/7/2020

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The complications of an education in the arts

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Photo Courtesy of USC Annenberg Media
Much has been written about students and learning during Covid-19. Often quoted is that kids are adaptable. But what about the student-artist? Historically, artists tell the stories of our times in their paintings, photos, films, words, movements, and sounds. The student-artist, like the student-athlete, is challenged. These students need particular attention right now. If they don’t have a teacher to encourage them, or a fellow artist to turn on their light, then what? Rehearsals, instructions, and orchestras require groups and collaboration. If you know a student-artist, if one lives in your house, then, help them soar. National YoungArts Foundation scholarships are open right now, so submit! Scholastic Arts & Writing Award opens in three weeks for submissions, so take advantage! How are other artists expressing themselves? What are other artists doing to get heard right now, with or without school? Lil Buck, @lilbuckdalegend, is interpreting and sharing his work, his experience of this time period. So, double down on your daily practice, even if you have to macro-size your palette. 

To the artist who is considering college this year, research how colleges are adapting to meet needs. This is true for rising seniors, too. Contact deans and administrators, as well as instructors. Dimitri Chamblas, Dean of Dance at the
California Institute for the Arts, told the Los Angeles Times, “The school is ready to re-question, reinvent … innovating in this particular moment of time.” Is your school looking ahead? It is exactly the curiosity of the artist, and the arts education, that can be useful to this time period. Last week the LA Times highlighted student-artists, specifically those heading off to college, and their challenges, even the relevancy of the programs, yes, even the prestigious programs, they are entering 
(Young artists prepare for college during COVID-19 upheaval). Those of us, like myself, who attended film school, know the true value of an arts-education is what you as the artist contribute, not just extract. So, build your 10,000 hours in order to have something to give at school. Continue your commitment and your goal, express, and experience, and adjust the scope.

The student-artists that surround us need to be supported --
in school and out.  Ultimately, we must all ask ourselves, who will tell the story of 2020, if not these kids?


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Now is the Time to Show the Authentic You!

2/18/2020

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If you’re applying to college next fall, it is almost time to get started on your college application essays. Essay prompts for the 2020-2021 Common Application and the UC App will be released soon. Students can get started on their applications over the summer, leaving more time for supplements and other college prep in the fall.

The hardest part of the college application process is often making your essay personal.  This is why it’s critical to get started on the right foot. Colleges want to know about you in the essay. The essay gives you the opportunity to reveal something about yourself that’s not found anywhere else in the application, and for some students it can be hard to decide what to write about.

​That's where SSG Academic Coaching comes in. I have 15 years experience helping students dig deep to find those meaningful topics that will reveal what makes them unique individuals. I work with them to develop their essays, oversee their writing process, critique and give feedback, and ensure that it gets sent off in time.
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    Author

    Shauna Somers Greene is an academic strategist, college consultant, and college essay specialist, who is passionate about helping students achieve their academic goals. She helps students with time management and organizational skills, writing, and developing and managing their academic timeline, and helping them get into their first choice colleges by advising on how to build their college resumes. 

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