As a child, you learn the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why. But on the cusp of your university years, the only question you’ll be asked is why. Why did I choose to study CMCI?
During this course, I can look back with fondness and clarity as to why I made my place in CMCI using the rest of the 5 W’s to explain my decision.
Before I entered King’s, I did the IB (International Baccalaureate) program for most of my education abroad in Dubai, UAE, and California, USA. I grew up moving around a lot, so the world was my oyster; I was exposed to many wonderful countries and cultures through my travels and friends. I chose CMCI because of who would be in the course, knowing I would meet twice as many people worldwide. The students of CMCI are diverse, with a myriad of backgrounds and origins. By choosing CMCI, I have found comfort in an international community that knows home is not where you live but the people you meet.
Based on my strengths and interests, I also chose CMCI for its unique content and what we’d be studying (it definitely made for an eye-catching course name while applying!). In my high
school years, my favorite (and best) subjects were Visual Arts and English. But in my free time, I love consuming K-pop. CMCI combines the best of both these academic and recreational
worlds, underscored by one of my favorite dimensions of this course: the amount of critical thinking and creative freedom you have, reflected in topics of your choice in your papers. And
the plus side, choosing CMCI also meant no math or exams! That was a no-brainer for me!
As a course solely unique to King’s, I was also drawn to CMCI because of where it is at; King’s is one of the UK’s most well-respected universities. Especially considering that I live in
California, with its own host of prestigious universities, people always asked me why I chose to leave all those opportunities behind. Even amongst other competition, I instantly recognized
CMCI’s value as a location in the heart of London. There’s no better place to study than next to/with the very contemporaries you’re studying- you’ll learn about Matthew Arnold and his theory
on culture and anarchy and then see his portrait in the National Portrait Gallery next door to King’s! Not many courses or schools can brag about that!
Lastly, I chose CMCI because I believed the relevance of when I could use this degree would greatly benefit me, both now and in the future. As a relatively new course, CMCI positions the
importance of the humanities and liberal arts field with historical and contemporary resources, which is especially important in today’s digital epoch, where everyone and everything consumes
culture and media. Therefore, understanding how the rising force of the creative industries is becoming increasingly critical. Knowledge is power, after all! This course emphasizes the
importance of such, and the skills developed will only help equip its graduates to succeed in finding successful and meaningful careers.
Written by Thu-An Tran, 1st year Culture, Media and Creative Industries
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