Evelyn Krutoy
Brooklyn, NY
September 08, 2020
Professor Slentz
35 W 67th St.
New York, NY 10023
Dear Professor Slentz,
I’m Evelyn, and I’m studying architecture at CCNY. I don’t have a goal to become an architect, but I think that architecture is the best path for me to figure out what I want to do. Design and how it contributes to our lives at a subconscious level has always been interesting to me, and since architecture school covers a lot of information relating to design, I thought it’d be a great place to start. I like that I’m not set on a clear goal because I’d much rather have a life where I adapt and learn, about the world as well as myself, as I go. Becoming an architect takes a lot of time and dedication, which I’m not prepared for right now, but I have to start somewhere.
As far as hobbies go, the past few years I’ve gotten really into cooking and a little bit of baking. More often than not I’ll be making or at least contributing to dinner and I’m really glad I have such a useful hobby. I started noticing that a lot of my conversations with people relate to food and that’s just my go-to way of connecting with people I don’t know well. I used to be a really awkward person so as I started developing this hobby, I used it to propel me into conversations I otherwise wouldn’t have started. It’s what I wrote my college essay about. Let’s just say there’s a lot of reasons I’m proud of this hobby and how it’s connected me to new people as well as my family’s background.
My family immigrated from Belarus in 1994 and my brother was two at the time. I was born later on in 2002 so my brother and I are 10 years apart, which is pretty weird, but we’ve finally learned to get along the last couple years. Belarusian culture is very similar to that of Russia, so we speak Russian and cook Russian foods that may have some Belarusian twist. Unfortunately, I’ve lost most of my Russian tongue; I still have the ear, but they go hand in hand. I’m trying to practice Russian whenever I can, but English has become my primary language. Though I wouldn’t exactly say I’m a great English writer.
I remember that as a child I didn’t really like reading. It was something I saw as boring and so I never pushed myself or had anyone push me into it. Around middle school, my friend recommended me this fantasy book series and I actually gave it a chance. I ended up reading all six very thick books and the three prequel books. I have memories of sitting in one spot the whole day and finishing the entire book. From that point on I realized I actually did enjoy reading; I just never found a book that really grasped my attention like those. I went through phases where I would read every day and then for a few months I’d stop and eventually go back to it, but now I’m in a more stable place where I encourage myself to read a lot but I don’t go through books as quickly, and that’s okay. Focusing more on the writing and how I feel from the readings has made me think about what interests me and what kind of topics/stories I like to read about. Reading books from authors like Haruki Murakami where the words flow so easily from the pages into my consciousness makes me want to be a great writer. I wouldn’t call myself a bad one, but I think I’m better off appreciating other people’s talents than forcing mine out.
I’d like to be able to express myself easily without tons of thoughts and preparations for what exactly I’m going to say. I think thoughts that I want to express in as direct of a translation as possible, but that process is much more complicated than it seems. Especially in architecture I’ll need to present and explain complex concepts in short periods, and I want to be confident in my speech and expression when that time comes. I have faith that this class along with your teachings will help me reach that point.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Krutoy
