When a dark time
emerged into my life and the only thing I could to do was move on and
continue my education, I opened up the best tool to help me get
started: the internet. The internet proved essential to my
educational career. I was able to take online courses so that I would
be able to work full time while I was pursuing my Associates Degree
at the local community college. I wanted to follow a path into
something that utilized my artistic talents. In my research, I found
a career path that I never thought of pursuing before. A career path
that doesn't pay much, requires moving far away from my family upon
receiving my BA, but essential for future generations to remember
their culture. Without this field, the Mona Lisa wouldn't be around,
Michelangelo’s Last Judgment fresco on the Sistine Chapel would
waste away, the Pyramids of Giza would be paved for parking lots, and
the Reclining Buddha in Thailand rust away with the elements. All of
this art and history gone because of the wastefulness of today's
world. The next step was to use this information to find out how I
can become an art conservator.
In my internet
search, I looked back at the classes I took in the past, and find out
what would be able to transfer. I was able to go to work full time
because of the online courses. Paying for school may have taken
longer if the internet didn't allow the availability in my schedule.
When writing papers, I've not only used the internet to find sources,
but how to write better, organize my time, and just be a better
student overall. I concluded that art held the fastest route to my
Bachelor's degree. I thought I would need an Art Practices degree
which involved making a lot of studio art.
The
internet helped me get started. I obtained the contact information of
an adviser to answer my questions. My adviser looked to the internet
to find art conservator societies, internships, and graduate schools
I could go to after getting my degree at Portland State University.
We realized I was much closer to obtaining the Art History degree
than the Art Practices degree. Even though she used the internet as a
tool to help me build my career path, she was an expert in knowledge
of art careers and found the search results I needed much faster than
if I was completely on my own.
Before starting
school, I used the internet to apply for scholarships. I looked more
into the graduate schools, and what GPA they required, and what
classes I would need to take. The internet helped me realize how hard
I really need to work. I saw pictures of famous works of art, videos
of art conservators at work on the other side of the country. I can't
imagine the internet comparing to the real experience of seeing works
like that of Raphael firsthand, and being able to touch it with my
own hands. These videos are windows to the life I yearned for.
Lastly, the
internet showed me how much the world really needs
art conservators. Pollution brought about by a Dixie-cup culture
where everything is created only to be thrown away after its' been
used is polluting our planet and bulldozing the world's combined
cultural heritage.
Thanks to the
internet, I had what I needed to start following my dreams. The
internet helped me in my research as a student in the past, and it
helped me research my desires for the future. Most importantly, my
forerunners in the world of art conservation gave me a glimpse
through their videos of what it meant to be a part of this way of
life. I saw what it meant to preserve one's heritage by preserving
beautiful works of art made by human hands. I found numerous sources
on pollution and a throw-away society repeatedly thrusts its' knife
into the heart of the history and culture of great nations. The heart
of civilization is art, and the art conservator is the doctor that
keeps it beating through time.
