You will sometimes hear near-death victims and survivors talk about their “Alive Day”. My Alive Day is March 29^th, 2002. I was ejected from a vehicle that was hit by a drunk driver going over 100mph through a red light. The severity and details of my car accident are so terribly long that I could spend this entire statement letter describing the pain, and explaining the effects that the car accident has had on my academic life. The most trying injury I sustained was the trauma that occurred when my brain smacked against the frontal lobe of my skull. It took over a month before I regained the conscious use of my mind for sight, sound, and visual tests. The cognitive therapy was a whole different issue. The neuro-psychologist assigned to my case at Baylor Hospital in Dallas was pessimistic about my recovery from the onset. I read the test results. I knew the doctor’s recommendations. I wanted to dive into school right away at my local community college, even though I was scheduled for monthly follow-up surgeries. They said that I couldn’t handle normal classes. I looked her in the eyes and said, “Well, you know what? I’m gonna try.”

This was my time. I was filled with aspirations to go somewhere special, and do amazing things. I didn’t want extra help. I knew the odds. There was a good chance I would try and fail. I didn’t care. Even now, I don’t need a reminder that I’m a special case. The scars that cover my body remind me of that every day. I already know I can do the extraordinary. Now, I am ready to pursue an M.A. in the field that I have devoted more of myself to than anything else in academics: Media Studies. I am ready to make a dedication to furthering my understanding of the communication theories of old and new.

School wasn’t easy, the first two years. Even after I was accepted to the university, the classes were tough. As soon as I was able to begin in the College of Communications, however, my outlook for school changed dramatically. Suddenly, I was studying topics relevant to my interests. I was learning to edit videos, produce music for film, and digital animation for the web – all in the same year! I want to take the skills and ideas I have learned about these past few years to the next level. I sampled some well-known writings of Foucault about Communication theory, and some seem interesting because I felt like I already understood them. His words about a “First Amendment as a local ordinance” on the internet have always felt true for as long as I have been online. Additionally, I am intrigued by the most popular works of Engels & Marx. They seem to have little power to shape the technology-filled day, even though their writings were ancient in comparison to the modern-day. I can sense how these words will influence not only a population, but an artist himself and the work he creates. I am not sure what the effects are (on my own artistic works) of taking in so much theory at a time; however I am more than willing to find out. The motivation of a work of art is the most important factor in determining the final presentation of the media, even if the art is of the latest techno-gadget craze. The ideology of Marx produced strange feasts for the eyes that caught viewer’s attention and never let go. I do not doubt how the master of the dogma controls the theme of a work. I want to understand it precisely.

When I entered the R-T-F program as an undergrad, I was ready to master video editing of any kind. I knew the basic schematics of a 3-point editing system. What had never dawned on me, however, was just how vital the planning and theory behind a film is when it comes to the actual mechanics of digital image compositing and editing. Once I had learned how Eisenstein’s “montage” term was effectively the beginning of a (now diluted) post-modern film product, I was excited to realize just how much power any film’s theory could have over an audience’s perception. Murch’s Rule of Six was my first step in the right direction for making cuts in a visual work that are motivated in more ways than that of simple 3-d continuity. Even a designer for visual works not based in film can control the audience’s brain through their eyes. “Language of Vision” by Gyorgy Kepes lays out how these concepts apply to modern creativity. There certainly has been a gradual conquest of some optical relationships that man as a species has learned to understand. Creative talent of the day is able to manipulate these concepts in order to assist an audience’s understanding of a piece of art in nearly any realm. Manipulation vs. Understanding is a fine line when the designer may be looking to control the viewers.

As an undergrad I found myself in classes based in a computer lab but still filled with theory and discussion. This felt almost too good to be true. I was learning the intimidate details for what makes a media presentation work. My opinions were not only welcome, but expected. I established a basis for visual editing in both of the classes taught by Prof. Anne Lewis. I was able to apply this range of techniques for several projects based on digital movies in the ACTLab courses with Professor Sandy Stone. Later on, I was lucky enough to find myself in a class dedicated to “Music in Film” taught by Professor Bruce Pennycook that answered all my questions about how to score a major motion picture. In any and all of these classes, I looked around the room and found a hodgepodge of the strangest group of intellectual elite that I would ever encounter. I want more!

The internship process for undergraduate students can be tough. That’s why I was eager to join my friends from class, Joseph Lopez and Brandon Wiley, at their new online project called ACTLab TV. You could sum up the station as an open-source initiative for streaming media on the internet. I was lucky. As an intern, I was expected to contribute relevant work. I helped with graphics for the web site, audio production content for our radio stream, and I created as much promotional material as possible in order to gain popularity. My passion at KVRX student radio for Austin was just as fulfilling and exciting. I hosted the weekly electronic music show and held the title of RPM Manager.

Now I know what it feels like to be on the cutting edge, both technologically and academically. I have reached past the goals that I was once told are simply un-obtainable for a brain trauma survivor like myself, and I’m not done yet. I know in my heart that Communications in Academics is the field I feel most talented. This is an exciting time for internet multimedia streaming and culture. There’s so much more out there about this new media world that I want to discover before I begin my professional career. The opportunities that would utilize the skills I have learned from my Communication major and an advanced degree may not even exist yet. This way, I’ll be ready.