Lara Abouhamad
Essay #1: The Significance of the Arts

“With their focus on history, culture, literature, language and other relevant areas of study, the humanities address all these issues in direct and positive ways, while also providing important, if less easily quantified, insights about the human condition.”
-Cornell President David Skorton

A friend of my father once took it upon himself to give me some gratuitous advice on the matter of applying to college. Himself a successful business man, he urged not that I got straight into business school or any other specialty school of the sort, but strongly advised me that I get a liberal arts degree first (or in the case of Cornell, apply to the College of Arts and Sciences). He insisted that having a liberal arts and humanities background would be the best resource not only career-wise, but simply put, it would allow me to have the freedom to explore different realms of study before finding what interests I truly want to pursue, because at the study of the arts and humanities rests at the core of every profession. Albeit unprompted, the advice he gave me that day profoundly stuck with me and ultimately solidified my decision to apply to the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell. In many ways, what my father’s friend explained to me echoes closely what President Skorton said in his letter: “Perhaps most important, the humanities are the cornerstone of understanding what it means to be fully human – an understanding that we ignore at our peril.”
In a more personal sense, the arts, in specific reading and writing, have played a significant role in my journey as a student and ultimately as a person. I have always enjoyed reading ever since I was young, whether it be books for school, trashy romance novels, textbook readings (most of the time) or simply magazine of newspaper articles. Although I love to read, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that reading is a strong passion of mine yet there have been moments in my time as a student where I have been awe-stricken after reading something and have truly been blown away with what I’ve read, as corny as that may sound. For example, when I read Kant for the first time in my Ethics class my senior year in high school I think I quite literally began seeing the world from a slightly different perspective, the same way I felt after reading an article about the break-up of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston in the highly-revered People magazine.
In all honesty however, as I assume many other students my age feel, I find the idea of writing an essay very daunting and am overcome with a feeling of dread whenever an essay is assigned, no matter the subject. I usually put off writing the essays in question until the very last minute and feel an unparallel sense of gratification and satisfaction upon the eventual completion of the essay. I will also admit, however, that there have been times in my time as a student where I have been surprised with what I have written and have discovered new perspectives on the subject I was analyzing through my writing and can say with all honesty (despite what I said before) that it is upon the completion of these specific essays that I feel most satisfied, and even at times, exhilarated.
All in all, I think the study of arts and humanities on a larger scale and on a more individual scale in terms of reading and writing, is an essential aspect of education as a whole and of everyone’s pathway as both a student and a person. Reading and writing, and the arts in general, have helped shape in large part my values, my views on the world, and my perspective on life as a whole, and continue to do so every day. In this regard, I strongly agree with President Skorton in that “federal investment in the humanities is money well spent,” and that the arts and humanities are things that should be fought for at all costs.

Works Cited: * Skorton, David. "The National Endowment for Humanities: Caught in the Collision of Politics and Budgetary Restraint." The Hill's Global Affairs Blog. N.p., 18 July 2012. Web. <http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/education/238673-the-national-endowment-for-the-humanities-caught-in-the-collision-of-politics-and-budgetary-restraint>.

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[ 1 ]. Skorton, David. "The National Endowment for Humanities: Caught in the Collision of Politics and Budgetary Restraint." The Hill's Global Affairs Blog. N.p., 18 July 2012. Web. <http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/education/238673-the-national-endowment-for-the-humanities-caught-in-the-collision-of-politics-and-budgetary-restraint