May 18th, 2020

Judges of the Senior Project Board

First Colonial High School
1272 Mill Dam Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23454

Dear Judges:

These past few months have been hectic for everyone, but I am proud to say that I will
be telling you about what I’ve learned these past 4 years of high school as a soon-to-be-
graduate of the 2020 LSA Class. I have learned to challenge myself, such as with hard classes
and my senior project. Through challenging myself I was able to improve myself as a person
and gain new experiences. I have learned the importance of a strong work ethic. It is essential
to forming good habits and becoming successful. I have learned how to balance school with
work and my personal life. While it is important to challenge yourself and work hard, you also
need time for yourself. That’s where I have learned how to manage stress. I experience stress a
lot and it always has a negative effect on my health. Some ways I relieve stress are through
exercising and art.

Art has had such a huge impact on my life. It has always been there for me. I was first inspired
to become an artist by my older sister. Then I was inspired by the cartoons and anime I watched
and the video games I played. Art inspires me to continue improving on myself and to keep an
open mind. My passion for art is one of the reasons why I chose to study art censorship for my
senior project, with the other one being to challenge myself. Prior to my senior year in the
academy, I studied the unethical practices of factory farming. This was the entire focus of my
ethics class. However, I already felt so strongly about my research and presentation that I
decided to challenge myself and change my topic. I also really wanted to have an art exhibition
for my senior project and felt that a topic of art censorship would be more fitting as it directly
relates. Art will always be a part of my life, and one of the purposes of my art exhibition was to
convey this importance that art has for some people like it does for me.

I would consider completing my senior project the last big accomplishment of my high school
career. Through my digital exhibition, artists were able to share their work in an open
environment with no limitations, as they should. I have been inspired by many artists on
Instagram before, so I am hoping that the art featured in my art exhibition has done the same for
others. I hope for artists to continue inspiring others and expressing themselves freely.

Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about my passion and the project I have
completed. Thank you for viewing the artwork submitted by those artists for my show as well. I
hope that you have been inspired.

Sincerely,
Megan Hinkel