Transcript: To me, creativity is going beyond what is surface level. What I see with my eyes can be pushed to the limits of my imagination. No matter how unrealistic, I’m not afraid to express my creativity, because excess creativity creates a creative world. Media in the video submission: Animation, comics, traditional and film.

I am the most creative when a rush of inspiration comes. For example, when a “river’s” unwavering flow hits a shore, the cool waters revitalize the pebbles. I am a pebble- waiting for the unexpected yet all-knowing feeling of creativity. I’ve been passionate about the arts since a young age. Because of that, art became part of my identity, intertwining with my culture, family, and generational status. When I was young, my parents couldn’t afford art supplies, so, ironically, I had to become creative with the materials I needed to express my creativity. Like a raccoon, I would scavenge the garbage cans and collect materials that I knew had the potential to be reborn into art. I adapted to recognize gold from the trash because, in a (large) first-generation family, even the smallest scrap was valuable. Significantly, when I was 8, I spent all of my winter break creating an illustrated comic book from my trash bin findings. Nonstop, I had a drive to draw a story into life- a fantasy story that went beyond my realities and broke into my imagination. Once I finished the last of the coloring, binding, and cutting the cardboard hardcover, I used scavenged golden foiled chocolate wrappers to add the last touches. The creativity process and end product of this comic book are an encapsulation of my passion for creation and how my lived experiences intertwined with my identities to create an artwork that reflects me. Truly, other than monetarily, there was no cost too great for me to be creative. In my artwork, I incorporate themes that include culture, experiences, and identity. One of these prevalent themes is wonder and imagination. This is because growing up in a first-generation family sometimes meant imagination was all we had to fuel our dreams when we didn’t have role models to reference success to. I bridge youth and childhood experiences into my artworks to visually reflect on how these experiences shaped me as an artist and person. Finally, I incorporate culture into my artwork because it is an identity that built my childhood experiences. To conclude, the said “river” clashes against shores, unwavering with creativity, carrying and pushing intermingled identities upon a bank of pebbles. Even though I am but one of the pebbles in the context of an overpowering river, I persevere through the corrosion with a drive to create and a passion for art.