Personal Narrative: RAW Art Work

Exiting Pratt Institute with a degree in sculpture into the Big Apple, I held my breath and clutched the edge of my seat. I remembered how confident and prepared I had felt before beginning my college adventure. Having been a part of RAW Art Works for three years before entering Pratt, my RAW family had empowered and gave me skills that I still cherish today. But while studying at school, I quickly realized that the family I had at RAW was not easy to come by or to be recreated. The day I graduated from Pratt, I left feeling incredibly proud of the work and growth I had made as an artist and now young man. However, I also left wishing I had formed a stronger community with my fellow peers and the sense that as artists and designers, we were all in this journey together.
Moving forward I made a promise to myself that I would find my community again here in my new home of NYC. With this new goal in mind, I said yes to every opportunity that came my way. This proved to be extremely successful and rewarding at times, an incredible survival tactic for big city living, along with being equally soul sucking. But every new experience I said yes to led me to realize something new about myself, helped me form new relationships within my community, and helped me to …show more content…
Applying it to this second chance at school YES! But I have also been proactive for much of my life in searching for a community. In high school, I was lucky enough to find myself as part of the RAW community. Earlier in this essay I had acknowledged them as my RAW family. Being apart of this community allowed me to come out of my shell and really start exploring who I was as an artist, friend, and loyal community member. Being able to be apart of such a welcoming and empowering community was an experience I will never forget. But now I feel honored, privileged, and forever thankful for being a part of the RAW