Intro When I first came to UW Bothell I was lost and indecisive as I didn’t believe in my own abilities. I was afraid that I wasn’t worthy of being part of the UW community since I had no clear goals or passions compared to others. As my time comes close to the end, I still don’t have a clear goal in mind of what my future should be, but I think it’s okay to be a little uncertain. As a child, I loved art and being creative. Creativity matters to me because it’s a way of thinking that I find very important in my life. It is what makes the word bright and interesting. Creativity is the topic of interest that pulls people together and makes meaningful connections no matter how pedestrian or professional the object or idea is at hand. I would also like to add that being creative and making art whatever that form may be makes me happy. I struggled in a lot of subjects, including art itself, however the rewards were so sweet and brought me joy. Art is what makes me happy and I was afraid I wasn’t going to find what I was looking for at UWB. Since UWB wasn’t centered around the arts I didn’t know if I would have a purpose there. Even though I love being creative I had a hard time putting value into myself, but as I neared the end, I realized that there was a place for me here. Creativity was everywhere. It just took a different form than what I was used to. Going through the courses at UWB made me explore other creative endeavors that were out of my comfort zone making me realize that I was capable of learning things I’m not familiar with while helping me learn to be versatile with my skills. Creative Writing Growing up I loved daydreaming and coming up with stories, but I never wrote it down because I wasn’t interested in writing. I have a tendency to view my creative works as if they were a diary and was reluctant to share them with others, however being in a creative writing class really opened my eyes that there are people who do enjoy the stories I have written. I tend to be shy and writing is a challenging subject for me, so I was worried about the quality of my writing and constantly compare myself to my peers. In my advanced writing class, I created my first ever chapbook that had a collection of my own short stories. My artifact,An Assimilation of Various Dream-Like Thoughts, is what I consider contains the best short stories that I have ever written, keeping in mind that I barely write stories at all. For the first time ever, I was proud of something that I had written and even submitted two short stories to Clamor for its 2020 issue. To my surprise and delight, they were accepted enforcing my pride for something that I had created. Art Making UW Bothell maybe not own a plethora of art classes but they do provide the basics which I do deem important. Even though I have taken basic drawing courses before I feel like based on the instructor and class what I learn and experience can be vastly different. I took a drawing class and charcoal was a recurring medium that the class had to use throughout the quarter. I have used charcoal before but I have always disliked it since it was messy and wasn’t a “pretty” medium. However, since this class relied on charcoal on multiple occasions, I learned how to appreciate the tool and its benefits. I learned to like it so much that when I had the option for the final project, I used charcoal instead of pencils which were my preferred method of drawing. This resulted in creating my Self-Portraits artifact which is my response to glamorized selfies which are seen on the internet. I personally dislike taking photos of myself because I feel like I don’t match the normative beauty I see in social media. However, I don’t mind representing myself in an ugly manner when it comes to art. I think it’s funny since it is poking fun at my own expense. What I’m trying to get here is that I came into class with a negative bias against something that I have used before. However, by working with it on a longer period I got used to its quirks and appreciated it a lot more than before. Teamwork Mixed with Art An artifact that provides social commentary, teamwork, and artistry is my Living Phantom Final Photo. My Living Phantom Final Photos isn’t just limited to the documentation of the project, but it is also the direct result of my contributions to the initial brainstorming and research of the project. The Living Phantoms project contains multiple factors but its main purpose was to represent the female Muslim minority and the social struggles they encounter. Though I had to help with my peers when it came to our brainstorming session, this project was my first experience of a large-scale group collaboration. Due to a large number of student bodies in the class my classmates were split up in groups such as documentation, social outreach, conception team, and construction. Since at the time I was taking an Intro to Photography class in the same quarter I had a digital camera at hand and volunteered myself in the documentation team. Though admittedly my photos in my photography class weren’t well executed, the class did teach me the basic functions of a camera and basic editing skills which were important for my process when I was working on my photos for the Living Phantom project. Even though I was part of the documentation team I did also help my peers in constructing the hijabs for the Muslim mannequins. Not only the documentation team was in charge of taking photos but we also had to make a short five-minute video. Unfortunately, due to our poor leadership within our group only the photos were processed and the video was unconceptualized. Since I was part of the group, I felt responsible that we were unable to deliver. Another big disappointment was that our planned installation for our public art was canceled due to COVID-19. This means that my class was unable to present the project that we spent real money and time on in constructing our passioned project. My only solace was the photos that I took that documented all of our hard work and ideas. What was Gained Due to the requirements of my degree, which is Interdisciplinary Arts, I had to take various classes on different topics such as history, feminism, culture, and art. However, what I consider most important to me is art-making and how varied that topic can be and the different sets of skills that I have gained from them. Two years ago, or perhaps even four years ago if I had to ask myself what I wanted to do for the future, it would be along the lines of drawing or illustration. As of now, I have developed skills that are not just centered around drawing, but creative writing, painting, photography, and installation art. Of course, I will always have a preference and a stronger skill set in one area compared to another, but that doesn’t diminish my creative potential of learning and growing beyond what I already know. I love art but I’ve always done it alone, however, through UWB I was able to collaborate with my peers, hear their opinions, their ideas, offer, and receive critiques. What I like about art is assuming creative control and expressing my ideas, but I learned that it’s also fun to challenge oneself into something that is out of your comfort zone and socializing with others on a collaborative project or even just speaking with others about the conceptualization of your own work. I love art-making but I’m not an expert, but I think that is okay. I know what I’m capable of and I know that I am capable of continuous learning. During this precarious time period of COVID-19 and eventual post graduation, it is a bit hard to grasp what my future will be. Even so, I know that there are internships and jobs out there that match my goals and passions and applying to those positions will be my next course of action.