The Columbia College Student Experience: Essay Contest: What Do We Look Like When We Are at Our Best?

in transition
bundled up and bustling
carrying the product of our effort
knowing
the best is yet to come

Where are we at our best? What are we at our best?... Those are the questions that ravel through the enlivened minds of young artists; of young creators. Those are the inquiries of a collective spirit that strives for something worthy... And that spirit is US.

We are Columbia! And we are at our best when we move forward as one; when we create and mold our ideas by that everlasting energy we know as Passion.

We are unity, and we are individuals. We are community, and we are unique. Yes! We are at our best when our spirits becomes one, and when our ideas become the evidence of such entity... That is us, and that is Columbia.

This is my first semester as a student, but I have been stalking Columbia in every form since 2007.
I believe Columbia is at its best when my teachers, projects, classmates, and "creative posse" if you will, when they are all pushing me. It's one of those you may hate the process--but man do you love the results.

To sum it up for me, I am a photo nerd (aka photography major). In my photo class my teacher put out a challenge to me. I didn't know how to give her what she wanted, or even a clear picture of how what she wanted applied to me. But I went out shooting hearing her voice in my head. . .looking for ways to bring to life that voice.

I just made prints from that project, and it is extremely evident that something took place over those 5 rolls of film. I was challenged, grown, and came out with not only some of my best work -- but with a clearer focus of my passion.

For me Columbia looks its best when it is pushing me to my best.

Columbia at its best? I would have to say that we look unique and creative. Everyone here is drawn to the arts in some shape or form. That's basically what this school is about right? We look like a bunch of unique individuals that fallow a different crowd then the average college. There is a sense of fashion that is different among each individual. I would say that there is definitely no standard trend among this school. its a place where the jocks, outcasts, nerds, preps, etc. come and automatically clash into one gigantic ball of blazing individualism. We are different, and this is why we we will be the future because plain old Jane has been defeated. : )

Columbia at its best?

Simply put, we are a network of creative people, inspiring each other and collaborating with each other. We work our butts off, and we have way too much fun doing it.

Among future film makers, fashion design students, graphic design students, photographers, animators, writers and entrepreneurs of all sorts Columbia looks its best when its student body and graduates unapologetically pursue their passion for a career. This along with creativity, innovation and motivation unites the student body, past, present and future in a goal to be standouts in each of our respective fields, thus prompting others to follow and emulate us from a compulsion to be more Columbia-esque. At our best....... we look like, the future.

When Columbia is at its best,
Columbia is power.
It is the inspiration to move forward
Towards something of your own beauty.
Columbia is movement in your heart,
The inspiration in your daily lives
To look above the terrible
To seek out the greatness
In yourself and others.
Columbia is friendship and teamwork,
It is the works of people pouring their tears, Fears, anger, love, dedication, motivation, Common interests and excitement
Into one piece of art for everyone to see.
For everyone to feel, appreciate and cherish
In their own lives.
Columbia is the hope to move you.

Columbia is the bounce in my step.
It is the cushy net that catches me
Each time I fall,
Columbia is the change in me,
It is my escape, my excitement, my happiness.
It is my teddy bear, my parent, my teacher,
My training wheel.
It is the sun rise;
Bright beams of multicolored light
Pushing through the thick fog of a dark valley. Columbia is my power.

Columbia is always looking it's best- we have one of the most talented and diverse schools in the country. Who else can say that?

Columbia College is an oasis of art. As Columbians, we like to portray our school and ourselves in lovable, artsy ways: Bohemians, Hipsters, and Rebels. However, for all these cliches, we truly have something to be proud of.

In the face of so many schools losing their arts departments almost entirely, and arts and entertainment industries falling apart, we are thriving. We are the largest community of artists in the Western Hemisphere!

The simple form of expressing oneself by writing on a page, drawing on a piece of paper, dancing on the streets or just opening up our mouths and letting whatever we have inside out is taken for granted. Yet, we must all realize that so many in the world are being censored, or simply not being given that push to the arts that we received.

Columbia College is at its best when it acts as a breeding ground for its students to change through creativity and expression in their communities, their country, and the wider world. We are the creative force of change this world needs. We are Columbia.

When Columbia College is at its best, it looks like a melting pot of laser-beam focused frantic expression, incendiary curiosity, and momentary artistic bliss that brings us to our next realization.

When we're at our best when we're collaborating, taking advantage of the opportunity at hand as a broad-scale arts and media school. We voice our opinions, share them, don't shout others' down, and raise the level of spirited and intelligent debate. Everyone steps to the plate with the skills they have and share in making something great.

Columbianation.
Pronunciation: \kə-ˈləm-bē-ə-ˈnā-shən\
Function: noun
Def: It is us at our best. Inspiration. Imagination. Transformation. Celebration. An exclamation of a new generation changing the way humanity expresses it spirit. Communication. Demonstration. A spirited revolution of new potentialities in arts and sciences. Dedication. Evolution. Determination. At our best we provide mutual support to one another in our quests and our mental work to own our own minds in today's society. The reincarnation or rather the reinvention of a better Bauhaus. At our best we are a manifestation of free minds working in collaboration for global change. Education. To the degree that our ignorance of what we are and where we belong falls away, so too do we become more aligned with that which is Eternal; the expression truth and beauty, art, and the expansion of our own minds.
Motivation. Exhilaration. Columbianation!!!

At its best, Columbia looks like a master showcase of its students' work. At its best, students collaborate together to create works of art that eventually become the heart and soul of Columbia College. I see Columbia at its best every time I walk down the street and witness new art exhibitions, gallery showcases, and performances. I see Columbia at its best during classtime, when I see my peers working on stories, photographs, advertisements, articles, paintings, and all other creations. Columbia is a place where students can develop and display their talents, and it looks its best when it exposes this to the outside world.

We're at our best when we've seen our worse. When you're at your breaking point, about to give it up, you realize what your heart is saying. We all followed our heart when we came here, (I mean we had to think of a good story when asked where we're going to college). Columbia is there to wake us up when our inspiration is down.

When Columbia is at its best its students will break barriers in their fields of study. We will have proactive students that are involved in a community and cause outside of their homework. Columbia is at its best when it prepares young adults to confidently transition into the world outside of college. Columbia is at its best when all of Chicago is hearing about what we are doing to "create change". Columbia college is at its best when it harness every students ability to change, grow, evolve and learn. Columbia College is at its very best when it recognizes and nourishes every individual’s ability to accomplish their dreams.

When we are at our best we look like a colorful ray of beautiful and glorious light shooting across the night sky, that leaves it's audience stunned with awe and wonder!

Columbia is at it's best when we've spent the last week completely inspired, unable to breach the barrier that is inspiration and real life, when we've reached the turning point that is the final touches on a project or piece that we absolutely love. We are our best when we are just at the point of conclusion, when we're still excited and hopeful, and our product is near it's completion. When the caffeine is finally wearing off, we're out of cigarettes, the sound from our stomachs is a forest full of bears (no time/need to think about food when running on coffee and excitement).

At its best, Columbia is a kaleidoscopic collage of styles and talent. You know you're at Columbia when your senses are overwhelmed in the most inspiring, exhilarating, nearly orgasmic way.

It's the way your stomach feels after a breakfast of champions. It's a shutout Chicago Bear victory on a Sunday afternoon. Think of the time when your friend offered you the last piece of gum, even though you knew he truly needed it. When Columbia is at it's best, there's no fighting the urge to stand up in your art history class and declare, "Man, this is freakin' Awesome!".

When we fight- we are at our best. Artists are naturally passionate people. We argue with each other, we disagree, we fight! I believe Columbia is at its strongest as an institution and a student body when we continually question one another.

Columbia at its' best is a very odd term to try and understand. What is Columbia, other than a motley assortment of partly rundown buildings strung throughout the south loop, furnished with some top of the line equipment? That is of course besides the Macs, because macs are terrible. If we look at Columbia as a collection of people, there is no doubt that it is a collection of skilled and talented minds, that is of course when we strictly view the faculty in charge of teaching. When we look at Columbia as a collection of students, however, we see an entirely different world. We see students who go out at least twice a week, get high and get wasted, and then recant their stories of drunk driving, intoxicated sex, and other shenanigans, and display pride in themselves for this behavior. They wear mismatched clothing articles that would never go together and call it style. They act like their style is individualistic and new, even though every person around them is doing exactly the same thing. They speak of bands and musicians that are so "underground" and fresh, and that they've been a fan from the start, even though tons of people have heard of that band and they've been a fan from the start too, that or the band is terrible and it's no wonder why nobody has ever heard of them. You find a group of liberal thinkers who say that they are ahead of the curve, and that they are so forward in their ways, even though they are more bigoted then those they claim to be. They speak out against the government and others in charge, and they know nothing of what they say. When you look at the students of Columbia at its' best, you find a muddled pile of confused and obtuse individuals who have no direction or pull over their own person or life. Columbia, a soulless shell of a haven for every misunderstood artist under the sun.

Columbia looks its best when it actually fulfills its promise of "creating change". Yet when I look around I'm perplexed by the hypocrisy of those words. I don't see recycling bins around every corner, I don't hear that Columbia has green roofs, I don't see multiple organic, vegetarian or vegan food choices, what I don't see is Columbia actually leading the way in "change". I came to Columbia thinking it was going to be a school that went against the grain. Where the school and its students stood for something, went above and beyond any other school in the country. Leading environmentally, creatively, and with causes it's students care and are involved in. The biggest frustration and disappointment to looking your best is when you don't. When you aren't trying hard enough, when you don't give it your all. Columbia will look its best when it lives up to its motto, and it actually creates change no one thought it could.

When Columbia is at it's best it looks very much like a filet mignon.
The ideal filet is cooked to a medium tenderness and covered with mushrooms sautéed to perfection in a mouth-watering pepper sauce. It is decadent. The best way to describe it is as an orgasm in your mouth, but that phrase is commonly interpreted in a dirty way so I’ll try to use other words. That first taste explodes in your mouth like a million sensations hitting you all at once. The flavor is breathtaking. You literally avoid inhaling because you fear that every exhale will carry away some essence of that amazing zest. The texture is flawless. There are no surprise veins of chewy fat; only a steady consistency of precise tenderness that massages your tongue ever so gently. It is just so incredibly delicious you know it has to be a sin to eat such an amazing dish. But does that stop you? Of course not! A steak that good is worth going to hell for. It satisfies your entire being.
Columbia College Chicago can completely satisfy all of it's student's educational desires. When a person finally reaches the perfect version of whatever it is they are seeking, then they experience that irreplaceable feeling of unbeatable satisfaction. That is the feeling you experience when you eat a filet mignon. Your soul just melts with happiness the same way the steak just melts in your mouth. This is also the feeing you should get from attending Columbia...if Columbia is at it's best.
When you first discover this school you are appalled at the cost of attendance. But does that stop you from coming? Of course not! A school that amazing is worth going into debt for.

Columbia is the manifestation of a profound commitment to the arts. One could offer snapshots of micro-spectacles that glitter the campus, but such an answer, although well-intended, would be an injustice. Columbia is more than that. The impetus that fuels the student body does not ignite at such an external source such as “look”, but rather from a deep desire to learn and grow as an artist--something that cannot be captured in image alone. So, when leafing through the highlights of the latest academic year, remember, there is an invisible driving force that unites us all.

When I am all these things, inspired with my own work, motivated to get everything done, challenged by the subject matter and curriculum, and completely exhausted from school/work/etc. and I'm still hungry for more, that's when I know Columbia is at its best.

What does anyone look like at their best? I mean that realistically. This is a school that 'prides' itself on the achievements of their students. This is a place in which every aspect of creativity among every medium known to artists becomes the method to our madness. We belong to one of the most liberal art schools within the state of Illinois where we pride ourselves on being different, individualistic, evolved beyond our fellow students throughout the country. Columbia College Chicago looks its best when we, as students, are around . . . because we are around. A school is nothing without the atmosphere that the students within create. Here we have created a sanctum of possibilities, unknown achievements, just waiting to break through from our creative abyss. Columbia looks its best through us, as students. Columbia is as good, looks as good, as we let it and as we provide for it. We are Columbia. We create change so as to inspire the uninspired and create belief for the unbeliever. Those within the the "big world" of the unknown should keep a close watch on the students of Columbia. We, through all of our mediums, are sculpting our future and that of the future of Columbia.

When Columbia looks its best, I see a young women who despite being a minority in her field, stands out in the most remarkable of ways. She is thirsty for art, creativity, inspiration and is filled with the sense of joy and pride in the work she has accomplished and is ecstatic about the work she will be involved in.

Columbia College is a place that the indomitable revolutionary artist can turn a picnic table into a stage, mature, be challenged, and strengthen a resolve to never abandon art out of fear or external pressure. Art is truth.

When Columbia is at it's best - I see it as a power source. Then I see myself as a young man with a bright future.

Often I'm overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the world I'm becoming ever more immersed in. Even as I step back to collect an overall perspective, a gasp will escape my lips for the greatness I am following. My professors are all profound individuals who have not only succeeded where many haven't but who desire only to pass their skills onto a future generation... onto myself. With so many resources resting at my fingertips, I only need whisper a question and a nearby Columbia student will elaborate with a long, thorough reply to answer my inquiry. We are community strong and as the ever evolving city shudders around me, the rest are here to shoulder my burden and help me- because even I represent the Columbia College community. There are nights where I stay awake and count the street lights from my bedroom window as I feel heavy with these burdens, but I need only remember where I'm going and how Columbia, my professors, and my peers are helping me to ascend to greater heights. "Create, change." It doesn't merely apply to the work the students make- it applies to the students the school makes.

When I am seeing Columbia at it's best, I feel truly grateful and enlightened by my classes and city and colleagues. At out best, we are taught by Pulitzer Prize winners and inventive, alternative thinkers.

Some days, when the creative visions of guest performers blend together with eager spectators enthralled by artistry, I become so inspired and happy to be alive seeing brilliant work I yearn to be like them. I exit the performance space dripping with ideas and awe. I go home and sketch after a lecture. I'll put on a tie after the fashion show. I go home and write after a spoken word performance. I go home humming after seeing a musician play. And when people cross the lines between the arts, magic happens. Mix a fashion show with live music and performance art, see what happens. The goal should always be to blow minds and leave with something you didn't have before, whether it's tangible or not.

I do my part to create photos and document every minute along the way, working in my own visions. The documents serve as my memory and my well of divine inspiration. I would never be who I am today without Columbia, and the change in me after these last 3 years has been a welcome and necessary one.

Columbia is the essence of it's code of honor: "Create Change." What better way to encompass that ideology than through art. In and of itself, art is in a state of constant motion. It changes but without demanding it's environment to follow suit. Rather, it behooves. It inspires. Columbia at its best does just that. Each generation of students will get a different college than their predecessors, and it will be all for the better. Columbia as its best tops itself. We are a family. A unit that cannot be broken. We represent the diversity of America, while maintaining the continuity of our greatness. Columbia at its best is a conundrum, because it is oddly familiar.

Columbia, at its best is a team. Film students cant make a movie by themselves, they need a director, a writer, a director of photography, and producer on the project because one person cant do it all themselves. Columbia even works as a team with different departments, film students need actors and actors always need to act, they work together all the time. Image design students collaborate with marketing students to get their work seen. Everyone critiques everyone here and when Columbia is at their best, we're all working together. It's like a big pool of creative minds in constant conversation with each other.

When Columbia is at its best, we look ready to take on anything, solve the issues that we have in the creative world. We give back to our communities and reach the minds of the youth. We make something out of nothing. We look like were going to take the world by storm. When were at our best, we make people admire how organized and efficient we are all the while saying yes, this is an art school. When we look our best we take on challenges and do what people may only dream of. We look our best in defiance and all the while solving the worlds issues one art form at a time.

Simple put it gives me an atmosphere where creativity is challenged. As an artist i need others to challenge my creative process. Otherwise, my work suffers, or never escalates to it's potential. I feel is true for all people and not just artists. And Columbia has given me and in return i have been able to create fantastic works.

When a walk down Wabash street reveals something unlike any other college. Colors, architecture, and a collision between the technical and the artistic. When the sun sets on the Chicago skyline. When people are working hard to unleash creative passions, it's inspiring, and despite the weather, there's no other college I'd rather be at.

When we're at our best? I think we look weird as hell.

To the public, it's around Manifest time, when all our combined weirdness spills onto the sidewalks...and then add an awesome back drop like the city of Chicago...I think that's when we look our very best.

But Columbia also shines in day to day life, when you see students stuffed into nooks and crannies, drawing, writing, reading, designing...and loving it.

When We Are At Our Best @ Columbia...
we wake up in the morning excited about the opportunity for a new day of learning/teaching/working/giving...
we are So excited for this new day's opportunity
that we don't even need to stop at starbucks to purchase a cup of caffinated energy, we find all the energy we need in the eyes, minds, and hearts of our peers, teachers, and random people that are always around the south loop...
When We Are At Our Best @ Columbia we collectively understand that we are not going to school to compete with each other to find out which individual is the best, but rather, what each student/teacher/employee is CAPABLE of when they are functioning at their highest possible potential in any situation...
When We Are At Our Best @ Columbia...
we Realize how Blessed we are to have the opportunity to be at a school where we are learning about expressing ourselves creatively, and developing that energy into a form that can be shared with others. we Realize that we are living in a new century with new technology at our fingertips that no generation before ours has ever had access to...
When We Are At Our Best @ Columbia...
we function in a harminous way with our mother earth, and truly learn how we EACH are the ones who give birth to our own future...

Columbia is at it's best when the student work I see rivals the professional work I see out in the city.
It's when I can go to a dance show, theatrical production, concert, gallery, or any exhibit of student work and leave continuing to think about what I saw and how it affected me.

Columbia at its best is a symphony of innovation and art. Each department works separately and at the same time cohesively to form a harmonious unit. Links between majors create an invaluable network of dancers, playwrights, musicians, graphic artists and writers. At its best, Columbia is the brink of the ledge. From dance to marketing and everything in between students are pushed to bust through their limits and seek out a different plane. We are endless invention, endless potential, wonderfully Columbia.

I feel that when everything aligns, Columbia provides for me more inspiration than I could get out of at any other school I visited before I decided to continue my education. I remember when I visited the campus, I just felt a certain sense of belonging...it just feels like home. The real inspiration for me as a musician and a working audio professional is that of the city, my professors, and even my fellow classmates. I believe that there is a lot of determination throughout the campus and we all seem to push one another harder and to achieve the goals we never thought we'd accomplish.

To me, Columbia means inspiration.

Columbia is the haven for those with talent and need to oblige their artistic side. It’s the place where new and old techniques collide in an explosion that rivals that scrawny puff of smoke we call The Big Bang. With these explosions of technique our minds get blown with perplex and often inspired thoughts. Starting a chain reaction, one students work inspiring others, until soon the apex draws near. In our haven the only thing that ever rivals creating is absorption. Whether or not we need our thirst for inspiration quenched is always an issue. We take challenges in stride; in a vain attempt to douse our need for inspiration.