Hi, I'm Zach Sands, and I am an artist. Please understand that this is never the way I would think about myself, but it is how most people will define me. And that is, despite what people might tell you, ultimately more important (I also like to start sentences with "and", and if you are a grammar hot shot and this annoys you, get over it. It'll be easier for us all in the long run). But past the artist label, there is much more too me, whether you're in the know or not. Things I love: movies, counter-culture-esque things, soccer (futbol!), being sarcastic, lying in bed for hours after waking up, skiing and snowboarding, walking around cities, (parentheses), run-on sentances, people watching, and, above all, loving. Things I hate: people and their stupid thoughts, intolerance/racism, my alarm clock, when people make things black and white (strange for a love/hate list, isn't it?).
Why am I at Tyler School of Art. This is such an interesting question, and I cannot tell you how many times I've asked this question. Let's start at the beginning. When I first looked at colleges, I wanted big. Really big. I wanted to meet new people everyday, I wanted to get lost in crowds of people, and most of all, I wanted to know that there were people in this world different from the kids I went to high school with. I also didn't want just an art school. I didn't want to get stuck doing one thing or knowing one type of people, so i intentionally looked for good art programs within larger universities. And here's what I ended up with: a school with about 800 undergrads (maybe 200 in my grade?), on a campus the size of a football field, half an hour by shuttle from the main campus and my link to bigger, better things. So why am I here? Well first of all, I am just waiting until the glorious day when my art campus moves to the main one. When in does, I am going to pray to god that I love it and I didnt waste a year of my life with something I didnt absolutely love. The second reason is art. I love it. It is what I want to do with my life. And while really considering the places I had been accepted to, I realized that Tyler could make me into the best artist I can be. Far more than the other schools I had the opportunity to attend. And the last reason is my grandparents. I'm not sure I have ever, before the day I decided to attend Tyler, really considered advice they had bestoed upon me. But they had told me that college years are fleeting, and that beyond it is a whole life that I can shape for myself. I took the advice of people with a lifetime behind them, I and threw away the social life and the "best match" for me in favor of the place that would make me a great artist. I ultimately decided, for the first time in my life, to put my future ahead of my present. And I suppose that is the real answer to why I am here.


And of course, I can always transfer.