Jessica Zhao

I once read a book called Blindsight, by Peter Watts, and it details a future where humans find other, intelligent life forms from space, aliens who are far more advanced in technology and science than humans could ever hope to be. But unlike humans, they do not have art. And while the book was very moving and thought-provoking, it was also very saddening for me, because what is the point of living if you cannot have art? Even now, in an age of self-isolation and quarantine, where many people work from home and more people have nothing to do, in the time where we were deprived of each other, we turned to television shows and movies and podcasts and comics and literature, and we turned to art. I’ve spent a long time believing I would go into a STEM field of engineering and mathematics, and a longer time believing that the act of drawing, of writing, of creating art was nothing more than a hobby; until I realized that I could not imagine myself in a future where I did could not live creatively, or make things that did not bring joy. And now I hope to pursue that future, where I can utilize this talent which was once a hobby in alliance with the field of STEM, and create things for future generations to enjoy and be inspired by.