Galvan 1 Valentina Galvan June 30 2023 FAMILIA GONZALEZ REYNOSO FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP For a majority of my life, I’ve loved to draw. It’s always amazed me how much can go into a single piece of artwork, the use of line, color, shapes, and composition that come together to visualize a person's thoughts and emotions. As a result, the arts have played a significant role in helping me cope with my anxiety and depression throughout my childhood. As a kid, I didn’t have access to professional help for my mental health, so creating art was my only outlet. Drawing and appreciating art of all kinds has helped me make sense of my emotions that I didn’t quite understand as a child. I didn't realize it at the time but this adoration for art was going to have a significant influence on my future. This love for the arts became what I was known for at school. I was the kid who would draw at school any chance I got. I’d finish assignments quickly so I’d have free time in class to draw and doodle in notebook pages frequently. I was fortunate enough to have teachers that embraced this passion rather than punish me for it. In fact, during my sophomore year of high school, I was given the opportunity to participate in a statewide film festival regarding suicide prevention. Drawing from my own experiences with mental health as well as some outside research, I dedicated roughly a month to script and animate a short film on my own. Having the opportunity to work on this film provided me with an outlet to express some of my personal struggles as well as bring awareness to my community about the importance of mental health. In addition, seeing other contest entries helped me feel less alone in my struggles with these feelings. This project opened my eyes to the significance the arts have in our society: Artists Galvan 2 sharing their skills to voice their own stories and struggles. In sharing, others can learn and relate to, which brings us closer as a community. I knew this was what I wanted to pursue. With my art, I hope to contribute to a world where people feel less alone in their struggles with mental health. I want to create art that can inspire people to learn about mental health as well as seek out help in their struggles. Animation nowadays isn’t afraid to shed light on topics like mental health and trauma which has been inspiring to me in my endeavors. By pursuing a career in this area, I hope to be able to lend my voice and skills to bring awareness to such topics as well. A dream of mine is to create an animated show that touches on topics of mental health to raise awareness and educate people on these issues. This is why I intend to study animation in college. Here I am now, pursuing these dreams at CSUF, which is an opportunity I am extremely grateful to have. With this opportunity I hope to be able to move forward in my career and create a better future not only for me, but for others who have struggled as I have. However, I come from a low income background without much support from my family to pursue my aspirations. This career path isn’t the most conventional and my father especially doesn't see it as a worthwhile career choice. This in turn has caused tensions between us, more than there already were. But I'm determined to prove him wrong and show not only him, but the world the power art can hold. Despite the barriers I face, I am determined to work towards my goals. One of the biggest obstacles for me right now is funding. Winning this scholarship would be one step towards me overcoming this obstacle as it would help me pay for part of my tuition. I want to achieve my goals without having to become a burden for my family. In doing so, I’d even feel more accomplished knowing this dream was something I was able to achieve on my Galvan 3 own through my own consistent efforts, especially after constantly being brought down by the negativity of others.
