Author: Ken Valor

I am the future. I’ll see you at the top.

Starting college is often a difficult thing to do for many and a hard road to complete. Thankfully we have gotten over our first semester as COMD students. This semester I’ve learned many things, including writing. I have learned that there are many forms of writing out there including the tons of poetry formats to choose from and so many styles of writing expressing your thoughts in ways of persuasion, information, debate. Entertainment and so much more. This has also helped me discover myself as a writer as a whole. I discovered my passion for music through poetry and writing down my thoughts and feelings often. I also learned that I am highly talented when it comes to writing and grammar in general. I’ve been writing for years and have naturally been good at English as a subject in all my years as a student.

As a college student, I have learned a lot as well. This includes the people around me, the new environment, I have learned more about how professors and students interact and how the lifestyle is fairly different from highschool. I do enjoy the long breaks and days we can take days off, and I have definitely taken advantage of that so far. We basically have 2 summer breaks in a year. I also learned that one on one teacher to student time is fairly important as well. As a college student, I’ve learned that procrastination kills. It took me so long to even start this essay and I have a BUNCH of other work to finish before the end of the semester and I’ll often find myself struggling to complete them half-ass by the last days before its due. I have struggled a lot with assignments and organization this semester and I just wish the professors can give clearer instructions and be extra specific in what they want and also when they want it, and how exactly to do it. There’s a lot of “figure it out yourself” in college. Trust me, I’ve done plenty of that.

Regarding myself as a design student in COMD, I’ve quickly learned that sometimes I may not feel as if I fit in. I’ve always loved art as a whole and I have been surrounded by creativity my whole life but a lot of what we do in COMD seems super outdated and stuff that I genuinely don’t feel like will help me much at all in the near future or in my future career. I’ve heard the same from other COMD students as well. We are living in a MUCH different world than it used to be and it advances faster than it ever has before, it’s hard to keep up. I feel like as design students we need to pick up the pace because, in a world like today, there is so much competition and so many people going to college and getting their degree for nothing when they end up working at Target or McDonald’s. COMD needs to step it up and be more to date with our world now and all its technologies. People aren’t interested in the stuff they were interested in even a year ago. So, as a design student, I feel sometimes as if this major and group of people I’m surrounded by, maybe it isn’t for me. Very often it feels like I don’t belong yet I have been raised all-around art and creativity but stepping in the classrooms where we are supposed to learn more about it with the COMD students around us just doesn’t feel right. 

With what I have learned so far, I will continue to make connections as much as I can before the end of my college career, not only with the students but with the professors as well. I will try to thrive in my classes as much as I can but yet focus on my own things in the side because as far as I see it, college probably won’t even get you anywhere, ESPECIALLY in COMD. It’s safe to say it may be better to rely on your side hustles instead of depending on a BFA to get you places. I’ll continue to work on my own hobbies on the side and try to make something out of it just in case college ends up being a waste of time as many others experience often. Let’s just see where life takes us.

Regarding my professional career and my life in general, I’m not sure where COMD would take me career-wise. I would most likely go for the more practical route which is advertising. I can probably gain a good career out of that. I’m more focused on my music and business I am starting up on my own. I have been doing music and have been working on my talents for a while now and I’ve been exceeding in that. I am also working on my own business on the side called VALOR. A multi-purpose brand. I also have a huge social presence, Throughout social media, I have accumulated a total of 30K followers and more than 300K views and more than 50K likes in general. I am growing my personal brand and will take advantage of that within my music and business. I want to succeed and become a successful musician or entertainer in general and I am taking the necessary steps to achieve that. I want to continue to inspire others and change the world. I want to impact millions of lives and be someone that the youth can look up to. My goals are out of this world and I believe that my life is how I make it and what I want it to be and I will accomplish that. College allowed me to meet new people and the right people to push me forward in my career and who will rise with me in the long run.

 

Biography:

I am an all-around creative artist, Dominican, born in Manhattan, raised all my life in the Bronx. I’m currently a student at the New York City College of Technology. I am a communication design student who is looking forward to using the skills I’m learning to incorporate it into my own craft. I am a musician/entertainer looking to expand my own personal brand and grow my audience as I’ve been doing.

Artist Statement:

In my art, I use music and writing to express my deepest thoughts and feelings then performing them in a way. Letting it out to the public and letting others relate to me. I feel like I’m an inspiration to others and people can resonate with me and my vibrant personality. I want to combine all forms of art to create something amazing and something to help the world in a greater way. I feel like some people don’t understand me but I’m a master at my craft and I am building up my success from my crazy, beautiful art and it will take me to the top.