Posted by Jerry Tsao on October 15, 2009 at 8:37pm
I am an American Chinese boy, growing up in a society dominated by pop culture, while being raised by traditional, motivating parents. They welcomed me into the world by preparing me to become the next top doctor or CEO. As they force me into these leadership programs and various boring educational services, they also allowed me to branch out of the academics circle and pick up piano. I’m grateful to have given this opportunity because it has heightened my musical ability to the point where I can distinguish beats, melodies, and those other good stuff from music. But all these added pressures of academics and music as a form of success and a resume builder, rather as a form of entertainment made me a very bitter person during my late years of high school. My father had passed away senior year, and I started having reoccurring thoughts of no self-worth, that my life was meaningless, and that I could face death without regrets. Fortunately, there was one thing that kept me happy and going: dance. I started dancing mid-high school year, when my friends introduced me to the world of hip hop. He showed me his amazing break dancing and popping and locking skills, and from then on, I wanted to dance just like him. I found it profound how people can move their body parts the way he did. The creativity and concentration exhibited by his performance showed me the beauty of the genre. Whenever I face those harsh times, I would just break out and dance. Dancing helps me escape the tough times of reality and enter a stress-free world where I can express myself however I want. You can say that it is my “anti-drug”. As my passion for the hip hop genre increases, my interests in other dances and other arts have increased. This is one of the main reasons why I’m taking the course Arts and Architecture 10 at UCLA. I want to be able to experience more art forms out there and appreciate the work behind them.
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