Endea's parents, Endea, and the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards New York City Affiliate Corianna Moffatt. Photograph courtesy of the author
«In celebration of the 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards exhibition, now on view in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education, the Teen Blog will feature guest posts by Scholastic Gold Key Award writers from New York City through the close of the exhibition on May 17. This week's blogger, Endea, was awarded a Gold Key for her poem "Feelings from 365."»
In such a fast-paced world, it is hard to think, let alone think creatively or artistically. Everyone is on the go and consumed by their own problems. There seems to be no time to slow down and reflect on our lives or the lives of those around us—the Met gave me a pause button. Yes, the world is moving fast, but at the Met, it's your own world and you can move at your own pace.
I visited the Met on March 20 for the opening reception of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards exhibition. I brought a friend along, and after many trials and tribulations, we finally made it to the Met. Several U-turns and a staircase later, we arrived at the exhibition, and I was lured into the halls of creativity known as the Uris Center for Education. As my friend and I walked along the halls viewing the artwork (some comical, some thought-provoking, and some political), I realized that there were tons of people like me who shared their creative thoughts with the rest of the world. The exhibition was like a complex diary for me, each artwork a new page with something different to say and capture my attention.
After a while, the Met announced they were soon closing for the day. I checked the time and couldn't believe that two hours had passed by with such speed—that was when I felt that pause button in action. The Met allowed me to step away for a while, from my own life, problems, and trigonometry homework, to experience what these extraordinary artists had to say; I was captivated. Surrounded by all of this creativity, I didn't want to stop reading the diary that the exhibition represents.
During the opening reception, pictures of all the artists and writers were taken, and most of us had family and friends there to take in the experience and celebrate with. Seeing my family look at my work with admiration and praise is something that I will always remember and keep near to my heart. Thank you to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for acknowledging us and giving us a platform to share our creative, innermost thoughts with the world. Thank you for inviting the world to come and read our diary.
For more teen writing, please visit the exhibition in the Uris Center for Education!