Cristina Lee Mele 16 De Gray Terrace Mahwah, NJ 07430 ESSAY My Self-Portrait It’s midnight. Somewhere, | hear the low drone of a television. ‘This dorm room has no air conditioning, so it feels even warmer than the 90 degrees outside. My art project occupies almost all the floor space, making it hard for my roommate to navigate a path from the doorway to her bed. Getting there resembles an acrobatic performance, but she eventually makes it and falls asleep despite fluorescent lighting overhead, Looking at an endless sea of paper, I know I’m in too deep. But, I pick up my charcoals and dive in anyway. As sunlight filters through the blinds, I rise stiff-legged and covered with dark gray dust, realizing I've made progress in the project before me. In the midst of a summer pre-college program, I worked nonstop for over five hours that night before noticing the time. How amazing to be so lost in a task, I didn’t even notice time ‘was flying by, or on any other night, I would have already been asleep. Yet, this was not my first love affair with the arts. At 12 years old, I was thrilled about taking art classes at a private studio. I'll never forget that first day taking instruction from my teacher. I was lost in thought, creating, totally focused. Nothing is better than living in the moment, and being in harmony with who you are. Asa child my strengths and imagination were encouraged. So, when it came time to consider career paths, the visual arts was a natural extension of my training. I like how it conveys a message and evokes emotion through an image, This concept fascinates me. I know that I like when a piece of my art causes a response, and the satisfaction I feel from creating something beautiful, controversial, or even humorous. While I have worked with many different ‘mediums and styles during my nearly six years of study, I am drawn to the field of graphic design While at college, I would like to become proficient in color, typography, illustration, layouts, photography, and interactive media, ‘This is important, since my particular interest is