The 80’s are on my mind and just like Marty McFly from “Back to the Future” declared, “I need to get back to the year 1985”. My parents were teenagers in the 80’s and based on their stories along with the movies, music, and trends of that decade, I find myself relating to the 80’s in a way only a time machine can solve.
Many of my greatest areas of interest are in tune with the 80’s, which is not typical of someone my age. I am mainly interested in hip hop music as a genre since I find it to be more entertaining and informative compared to the mainstream music that is normally played today. Hip-hop artists from the 80’s and 90’s were pioneers, not only with their catchy beats and style, but with lyrics influencing critical topics of their day, like crime, poverty, and the struggle of inner-city life in general. I have always been fascinated by the fact that some lyrics from the 80’s hip-hop artists are still applicable to current events, particularly those relating to the recent police force and racial movement stories in the media.
The desire to integrate my passion for music into my plans to engage in volunteer work drove me to join an organization called “Music & Memory” whose goal is to provide therapy for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The organization helps the patients to relive their joyous memories by listening to their favorite music which has been proven to have a positive impact on their lives. When I learned that Music & Memory was at the Alzheimer’s Resource Center in my hometown of Southington, I decided to get trained to become a Music ; Memory ambassador. I currently volunteer at the center where I create and save music playlists onto the residents’ iPods and spend time with them listening to their favorite songs. Even though most residents are not fond of my 80’s hip-hop, I still get satisfaction to see them enjoying their music.
Recently, we have seen several of the fashion trends from the 80’s being reintroduced back to the modern industry especially in the area of footwear, such as sneakers. My interest in the sneakers and the trends that existed in the 80’s have led me to follow the sneaker industry keenly. During the past summer, I began to seek ways to integrate my entrepreneurial and marketing interests with my fashion style. After several long chats about the industry, a close friend and I decided to explore the idea of starting an online streetwear clothing company, specializing in T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and backpacks. My friend and I have already created the company name, logo, and established its domain name. We also shared several prototype T-shirts with friends and received positive feedback which is encouraging us during this proof of concept phase. While spending time interning at a marketing agency this summer, we started to work on the website and hope to launch it by summer 2017.
In addition to establishing this business, my ambition includes continuing with education post high school. I have made the decision that a marketing degree will be a good fit for me and I have identified your institution as my top choice as it offers the prerequisite skills to enable me to pursue my goals. With my degree and drawing inspiration from successful entrepreneurs such as Daymond John and Bert and John Jacobs who successfully grew their business from very humble beginning, I believe that I can be successful in my own business or a marketing field of my choice.
