I can’t draw to save my life. Unless you want some awesome stick figures, I’m your girl. I can make some noise on a clarinet, but I’m not going to promise that it will be in tune.

I guess I can sing a bit, but I love photography and acting. If it wasn’t for the classes I took when I was in high school, I would never have known. So what do all of these have in common?

I am not the first, and I won’t be the last, to say how important art is--whether you are good at it or not. Art is a career and a way of life. It connects us to the past. It speaks when words fall short and shows what we see inside.

Art has been created since the beginning of time. From drawing on cave walls to exhibits in museums and galleries all over the world.

It is also a tool, we use different art forms to teach people all the time. We teach them little songs to help them learn the alphabet and let them draw to pass the time. We drew when we were little to strengthen the muscles in our hands and to learn control.

Singers and people in bands are our idols who we wanted to be . We go see movies and plays and want to be famous like the people we see. But even with all this exposure students still have had to fight to keep art in school.

“Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play.”

-Henri Matisse

Art gives people useful skills; it isn't just an outlet for expression. Students that are in art programs are proven to have a higher capacity for learning. But the arts are one of the first programs to get cut. This is even though it is a core subject in education. As a creator of art, you need to learn how to take and give constructive criticism and when to get help. Students build social skills by practicing communication.

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”

-Albert Einstein

Art gives us the chance to express ourselves. If it makes you feel like you are doing something meaningful it's worth it.

"The same feelings of frustration make: a lush flowing canvas of angry brush strokes, a clay sculpture of a man's face contorted with rage. These feelings can only make art better, more raw and expressive, they can transform anything into art, which may curiously be why the margins of my notes had so many doodles that spilled onto the page."

-MellissaMcClements

We use art not only as an expression for ourselves but the things we feel. Some of the greatest art pieces show the passage of time and hopefully will be looked at for years to come. I say keep the art going, keep creating it and let it speak for itself.