Museum

Disclaimer: "I went to the Polk Museum of Art for this assignment, and I stayed there for at least 40 minutes."

In the museum, I was lost for words. Each painting had its own story. Each was thought up and created due to some spark of inspiration that the artist had. What makes me ponder the most is how much each artist had to give and to risk creating something that they loved.

I am a big music lover. I enjoy the sounds that come into contact with my ears. I love listening and actively participating with music by singing or dancing. With art, I’m not avidly as active with it as my friends back home would be. But while I was on this trip, I incorporated the art of literature with the visual art and then listened to the sounds in the museum and somehow I was stuck with not wanting to move. It was interesting to see how they all can work so well together if you just take the time to notice it.

So, after my mini-epiphany, I started to think about how hard it would be to sacrifice something like security to produce something that you were passionate about. I learned in high school that most famous artists were not famous until after they died. After they could no longer care for success or feel the adoration of fans was when the most pivotal points of their careers took place.

Am I going to let the uncertainty keep me from being passionate about my dreams in life? The artists at the museum weren’t afraid of jumping into the abyssal of ambiguity. The security of a 9 to 5 job and health benefits is not what most people would give up for a whim – for a dream? It takes a lot of strength to sacrifice the “good” life for a “meaningful” life. And I just hope that once I graduate college I’ll be able to look back and see how I sacrificed the comfort for a purpose.

Staring
I stare at you,
A painting with
So many and yet few
Brush strokes of the hand.
A flick of the wrist,
A dab of blue,
A dollop of yellow,
And soon the paint is more
Than just that.
It is ever flowing
Ever animated,
Awaiting to take me on a journey.

Sacrifice
Each name
Remembered or not
Has led a meaningful life
Without the title
It might seem invisible
But the action is more than word
And the product is more valued
Than the paper in the wallets.