At the University of Maryland, we value a diverse community. How have your life experiences and background shaped you into an individual who will enrich the University of Maryland community?
So many times I feel that when I write I must model myself after other great writers. Yet one of the primary foundations of their greatness comes from their own uniqueness[SJ1], from the diverse forms of composition and connections of words they have made their own. Albeit we grow and learn from one another[SJ2], in the end what ultimately emerges from us as writers, and more so as human beings, is our own voice. We experience the world through our senses in a different way than any other person. We see and smell, taste and touch[SJ3], and hear in variation to the world.[SJ4] It’s at this point in my life where I have come to a great divide, a chasm[SJ5], which must be crossed. It’s that “in between” stage. It is the one at which the student jumps and the individual lands.[SJ6] I know that I’m just another created being, but I am Brett Jansen[SJ7], lover of culture, the musician, the engineer, with my own background, experiences, and dreams.
This study, this apprenticeship, started where I did, in the greater Washington, DC area, surrounded by Eastern and Western culture, beginning with my father’s Dutch heritage. A short bike ride[SJ8] to my Oma’s had me listening to stories [SJ9]of dairy farms, trying on wooden clogs, all while enjoying Poffertjes, mini, sugar-covered pancakes, and Leiden cheese on crackers. Next came my childhood friend Amar Singh, whose Hindu worship of idols showed me the differences of religion spread throughout the world. Aside from my Dutch family, it was Svetlana Gorenman my Russian piano teacher, who gave me the greatest cultural perspective. Jewish-born in Stalin’s reign, her family’s faith was completely suppressed, resulting in bitterness[SJ10] towards God and additional persecution from American Jews who condemned her non-practice once she escaped Russia. Her hardened commitment to piano showed me the desperation her generation of Russians had to find an escape on which to cling[SJ11]. These experiences shaped my deep appreciation for culture and a passion to learn about them. After all, the American culture is built completely on the cornerstones of other nations and peoples[SJ12].
My piano teacher, a Moscow conservatory graduate and certainly the finest teacher I have or, I am convinced, will ever meet, wrote music into my soul. She poured all her aspirations and hopes into me, a young boy in love with his instrument. Method upon method, hours on hours, her instruction gave me the ears to hear the exquisite interpretation and beautiful minute inflections from the technical perfection. A decade of learning from this master made me more of who I am today, a musician, than any other human being. I will always love music, and I will always play music. [SJ13]
In contrast, my early hobbies formed themselves in the art of creating. My interest directed itself into building with wood. I learned that I could nail, and drill, and glue pieces together. I learned that I could take a board, and make anything I wanted. Hours were spent in my garage drawing, measuring, cutting, and shaping. This interest grew into skill and ability in math and science, which comprise the majority of studies as a student. Even today, I find I don’t want to get behind a desk, but I want to interact with what I’m making and use my hands. Today, I plan on becoming an engineer, and combined with my love of culture, desire to use my gifting to help other nations establish their own infrastructure.
So here I am, in the midst of my jump to become a complete individual. I still have much to learn, but I see myself in so many ways starting to emerge with more concrete vision of who I am, with hopes and dreams waiting to be met in the future. I am Brett Jansen[SJ14].
1 comment:
great job with your essay! you put so much of who you are into it. It was like I was talking to you. Just on paper. It was like taking a high-lighter and writing "Brett Jansen" on every word.
Well done, my friend!!
ash
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