The day I first saw a dance studio sticks in my head very clearly. Holding onto the rope as my preschool walked through town, we went into a gourmet popcorn store, where right next store sat a dance studio. That night I went home and told my mom I wanted to be a ballerina (just like my Barbie). My parents promptly enrolled me in a tumbling class and soon enough, my first ballet class. I stuck with dancing until I was 11 years old, when my parents pulled me out of dance to explore other curriculars in school. I joined band, choir, color guard, drama club, and while color guard and band were the only two that stuck, I still hold great appreciation for all the arts.

It may be a bit extreme to say that without the arts I would not have wanted to be a scientist, but then again, it may not be that extreme either. As a young child I struggled in my science classes, I hated them all up until sophomore Honors Biology. Then I fell in love with the science behind how I move, how my cells use the food I eat to create ATP (adenosine triphosphate) so I can lift my arm and toss my flag. How the plants outside appear to just be sitting there, but are really photosynthesizing underneath my feet. How I can help and hurt the planet (okay I cringed more at the hurting part). Without the arts, I do not think I would have enjoyed science. There would be nothing driving me to love it. I fell in love with science because of how it affects my craft. After a long guard rehearsal I knew why I felt sore, it was the buildup of lactic acid. There was just some sort of satisfaction in understanding parts of my world, understanding what makes a color the shade it is. That drew me in and after that I was hooked on understanding the world around me. I wanted to know more about the world, and the rest is history as far as my journey in science is concerned.

Art inspires. It inspires me everyday to wake up and listen to good music, to look at what people wear, to watch how people dance and read what people write. It inspires me to conserve our planet so we can create more art, after all our planet is in of itself a piece of art - the way the birds sing and dance and the sky paints a picture. So after a day of reading scientific articles and pipetting to no end, I can walk around downtown, see the color of the flowers, listen to the sounds of musicians and look at children’s drawings on the sidewalk. Art inspired me to become a scientist, because I see the beauty of our planet as a piece of art that we are all responsible for. The color guard I teach inspires me everyday to be a better performer and a better person. They, along with a marching band of kids, inspire me. The art community as a whole, a loving community that accepts everyone’s pieces whether they are good or bad, welcomed me as a teenager in high school and have supported me as a young adult in college. Through the arts I have gained friends and family.

Perhaps I’m biased towards the arts. I was raised in a household built on marching band (my parents met in their high school marching band), when I was younger I participated in the mini camps for majorette and flag, my parents always supported me (and still support me) in the marching arts. My mom loves to write. My dad loves to read, if I asked for a book at the store chances are I could have it. My aunt is an artist and costume designer, and as a child my grandparents took me to her shows in the fall and spring. To this day my mom blasts her music around the house as she cleans, and as a child I remember my dad driving the car as he explained to me how to keep a beat (I could not keep the beat for the life of me as a child). So I am a bit biased towards the art community, but then again who isn’t? Is there anyone out there who does not enjoy music? Or a good book? Or a nice painting or photograph of their dog? You may not love the fine arts, but everyone consumes art.

So why is art important? Well I said it a few paragraphs ago, art inspires. It inspired me to understand my world. Art inspires the young boy to draw stars and the young girl to study the stars. From the designs on our planners to the drawings hanging up in our homes, art is integrated into our lives. Recently I have heard news about defunding the National Endowment for the Arts, while I’m not sure if such reports are truthful, do not defund the arts. Without these programs we lose our writers and singer, our creativity. We lose ourselves, and we lose our scientists and doctors. Numerous studies show the positive effects of the fine arts (look

here, here, here, here, or just perform a Google search). Not everyone needs to be an artist when they grow up, but children, teenagers, and adults need art. Keep art in schools, please. Love your neighborhood science major who was inspired by art.