Personal Essay: A Cultural Analysis

Over the course of my life, I have fallen in love with three things: the big cities of the world, the fashions on their streets, and the art housed in their museums. However, growing up in a small town in upstate New York, these gems were hard to come by.

I was in elementary school when my parents separated. With my younger sister and I in tow, my mom moved in with her mom. Around that time, my grandmother was diagnosed with melanoma. Whenever my mom took my grandmother to her appointments at Albany Medical Center, she would also take my sister and I to the surrounding museums while we waited for her to finish. The museums always brought me comfort and serenity, feelings that have remained true over a lifetime.

While my love affair with New York City began when I was a toddler, my affair with Europe an culture began more recently. A few years ago, I had the privilege of spending a summer exploring some of the great cities of the world. Culture shock abounded as I took in the treasures surrounding me. From the moment I saw Pythokritos of Lindo’s Nike of Samothrace, my passion was ignited. It was the summer of my artistic awakening. I returned home inspired and eager to learn as much art and fashion history as I could.

My parents had always bargained that they would pay for my
schooling as long as it was in a field they approved of. Come Fall 2010 I returned to SUNY Ulster as a Liberal Arts student. Unfortunately, halfway through my spring semester my grandmother took a turn for the worst and sadly passed on.

A few weeks later I escaped to London by myself on the soul-searching trip of a lifetime. Upon my return home, I experienced another life-changing moment while exploring the Wonderland that was Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty at The Met. Never before had I felt so utterly moved by an exhibit.

I then continued to work and build my savings. In fall 2012, I once again returned to SUNY Ulster (this time on my own dime) as a Fine Art student. It was the best choice I’d ever made. I was thriving. In the third semester, I was elected art club president. With the help of my friends, I accomplished a club-first for the school - a two night trip to Boston to study the work in their art museums. I loved my time with Ulster.

After graduation, with the help of my father as my business partner, I opened my own fashion boutique. MDR Boutique opened late August 2014. It was my dream come true. I filled the shop with trendy fashions and used to wall space to host the artwork of local artists. It had a fantastic beginning before the harsh winter caused sales to nose dive. Come spring the foot traffic never picked up, causing even more struggle. During this time, both my father and step father were diagnosed with cancer - a massive blow atop of everything else. I did everything I possibly could to save my shop but it was no use. I carried my beloved shop on my shoulders with pride until I finally closed her doors 11 months after opening.

Almost simultaneously, I launched an online fashion blog called MDR NY. This has become my creative outlet. It allows me to explore both fashion and art history while portraying things I’ve learned with modern photoshoots. Then after closing shop, I received and accepted a job offer to become a stylist at NEXT Boutique, where I’ve been happily styling since.

I believe my experiences have been preparing me for this step.
I feel as though every skill I’ve learn and piece of knowledge I’ve gained has all been leading to this. Art History and Museum Studies means gaining to skills to tell the stories of art’s past to a modern day viewer. A well executed exhibit transports the viewer, provoking thought and emotion as they read the curators interpretation of the tale. FIT resides in one of the cultural and artistic epicenters of the world, making it’s physical location more than ideal. More importantly, FIT calls for a higher level of creative thinking. The FIT student doesn’t hide from adversary, she grabs her sketchbook and learns from
it.