Social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit have all made major contributions and increases to the speed at which information is shared and travels. To my senses, though, this has removed most of the sanctity that the arts possess. The waiting in line for a concert is removed because we can now view them from the comfort of anywhere via the Internet, you don’t actually have to buy music in order to have it, Flickr allows amateur and professional photographers to have their work put out for millions to see. The fact is that the only true purity there is left within the arts is within live performance and physical media. My goal isn’t necessarily to stand out, but to rather stand above the works and artists around me by staying out of the social media and maintaining the integrity of the arts. As a general artist, my work is directly impacted by my ideas and experiences. Whether that is writing a song about an ex-girlfriend, painting an auto-biographical self portrait, or photographing my local chapter of the Occupy movement – the reason is because those all are parts of who I am as a person. All of my works and pieces represent who I am as a person, and the truth is that I don’t really like the idea of being on display for everyone in the world to see. I would like my media to be heard and seen, but by those who understand it on all of the levels that I intend when I put my work together. Columbia College is a community of artists, and an educational community that is digital leaning. The ability to control the output of my works in a digital format is what I hope to learn at Columbia. The social media, by definition, puts us on blast. We can’t hide anything from it – all of our works, history, achievements, and failures are all out there to see. I want my audience to be able to escape their social lives for a few moments as they stare deep into an image I’ve created, or take five minutes to just listen and absorb the music I create. I hope that someday I can just let my ideas hit someone with a fraction of the passion I have for him or her, because if I can, then I believe they can achieve that social escape that I’ve tried for so much. I want to be the person to give the opportunity to understand my work and the opportunity to let the work envelop them to people who can respect the gift that I want to give them through music, 2-D visual art, or some other medium. Columbia is exactly the type of place where I can learn to better distribute this gift while still