Art makes appearances in our lives at different times and in different ways.

It is in the music you listen to while on your way to school, the graffiti sprawling across a wall, and the sculptures decorating a park.

Some see these morsels of art and continue on with what they are doing, noticing but never regarding. Others let these displays spark a burgeoning flame inside them. Regardless of what type of art you allow to touch you, that art will lead you on a path to self-discovery.

“Art is literacy of the heart,” Elliot Eisner, professor of Art and Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, said in his book, 10 Lessons the Arts Teach.

Just like a diamond, our hearts have many facets when it comes to the arts. For some, self is found in the art of music.

Jack Martin, senior, plays the guitar, the cello, and sings. He is also a member of the band Quincy. For him, music is an outlet of creativity that has become an important part of his life.

“Probably half my day is related to music. Either playing music in school or at home, and listening to music. I used to not even listen to music at all, but now it is one of the things I do everyday,” Martin said.

Martin believes that music should be present in every person’s life in some manner.

“[Music] is kind of like a language. Everyone should learn how to play an instrument or have training in vocal music. It’s a very good form of expression, and a good outlet to blow the stink off.”

For those who feel that music has never been that important to them, or have trouble finding genres they enjoy, there is hope.

“I think there is a type of music out there for everybody. Maybe they haven’t found it yet and they should just keep looking,” Martin said.

If music is to be regarded as a language, it can be thought of as a dialect of the arts. Another dialect of the arts is the visual arts, including ceramics. Plenty of ceramics courses are offered at HHS, and there are students who have discovered that this type of art is for them.

Dominique Brown, senior, takes Ceramics 3.

“I started [ceramics] in 10th grade when I did Ceramics 1. There was an AP student here, Matt Chinn, who was super good and always helped me. It was very encouraging because he would always say, ‘Oh, I see potential here’,” Brown said.

One of the great thing about the arts is their variety. They are not mutually exclusive, so you may find that, while you suffer in one area, you excel in another.

“I really enjoy [ceramics]. I’ve never been good at drawing and this is another art form.”

Ceramics has the potential for practicality, making it a versatile art form. Brown has taken advantage of this by making useful tools such as mugs, bowls, and even a casserole dish for her grandma.

Brown has also been taught many lessons about patience by ceramics.

“In ceramics, you are not gonna get it right the first time. Sometimes you make a bowl and it falls over, and its like ‘Oh, woops, I just have to try again’,” Brown said. “If you take time, you can make things more beautiful.”

There are many other forms of art that have gone unmentioned, but regardless of the art, or arts, you choose to partake in, discovery may be just over the next horizon. You could encounter a universal truth, or a cultural disposition. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you will discover a little bit more about yourself.

But why would you want to discover more about yourself? For some, this is enjoyable prospect. Others may try to hide because they are afraid of what they will find.

If you are afraid of who you are, grow up. You are stuck with you until the day you die, so you might as well sit down with your soul and get to know it. You can talk about the weather or something like that.

Maybe some people feel that the results of their adventures in the arts don’t concur with who they believe they are.

Just like personality tests, art forms don’t define you. They depict hues of your character, hues that vary greatly and change according to the position and lighting of your life. Maybe you just never noticed that color of yourself.

Once again, you are like a diamond. Find those facets you don’t know about by dabbling in the arts.