Hi, my name is Madison Cooper.

I would like to start by saying that some people are gifted with a natural artistic aptitude and that I am not one of those people. However, despite my aversion to many musical instruments and activities like singing and dancing, artistic activities have been a very prominent aspect of my life.

During my childhood, my mom would always sing me the song “American Pie” by Don McLean. At the time, I had no clue that she had a horrible singing voice and that she was nearly tone-deaf, but I quickly realized that I had inherited her musical abilities when I began choir in elementary school. At Arlington Traditional School (ATS), in my hometown of Arlington, Virginia, I was required to take choir from kindergarten through 5th grade. I was consistently placed in the back row of the bleachers during Christmas recitals. In 3rd grade, I played the recorder, and then in 5th grade, I played the violin in the school orchestra. I was unable to read sheet music and I could only produce squeaky renditions of the songs I learned.

In Middle School, I was comically placed in choir class once again. I was in this class for two weeks before I switched to art class. Art class was surprisingly enjoyable, and although I was not necessarily talented, I enjoyed ceramics and watercolor painting. In 8th grade, I also experienced my first school dance. Nothing is more embarrassing than awkwardly dancing and singing karaoke in front of preteen boys.

In Highschool, I finally found two artistic outlets that I was passionate about. The first was photography. I took this class from freshman to senior year, and I won awards on the State level for my black and white photographs. My second artistic outlet was the kazoo. The beauty of the kazoo is that it can be played by practically anyone.

At UGA, I am still unsure of what artistic activities the next four years will hold …