I grew up with an artist for a father. He painted with oil paint in the front living room of my childhood home. He painted scenic landscapes and Mediterranean architecture, and told me that it calmed his mind. He had “it”. The passion and the talent, but he lacked the one thing that unfortunately keeps most artists from pursuing the careers that they truly long for. He was a dirt poor immigrant who came to the US from Syria when he was 12, then on his own moved to California when he was 16. Unfortunately, when he saw the price of art school tuition, he was faced with the devastating decision of instead becoming an engineer. Though he was never able to pursue his dreams of becoming a painter, my dad has always been my biggest supporter, motivator, inspiration, and it is because of him that I am now able to pursue my dream career of being an illustrator. Ever since I was doe eyed and three years old, art has been the only thing in my life that I’ve consistently loved. The first thing that I ever learned to do was create. Creating heals and eases my mind. My life revolves around art, and is my reason for getting up in the morning. Going into sophomore year of high school, I highly considered withdrawing from school. I felt no urgency to continue my education, but one thing prevented me from quitting, and that was taking AP Art. Taking the class reminded me of my love for life. Being able to experiment with different mediums with such range reminded me of the endless possibilities there are for my future. It was this class where I fell in love with oil paint. There’s a certain type of liveliness and devastation that oil paint can bring to painting. It helps me encapsulate the emotion in a person’s face. There’s something so motivating about making art. It’s the power that creating gives me that I chase. By creating I am able to make people feel. Being in touch with one's feelings leads to an improvement of their overall well-being, which in turn causes them to treat other people in their lives bette. A couple months ago I went through a phase of sleeping with my oil paints. I’d wake up in the middle of the night and continue painting, this went on for many weeks. Not only has painting been a good outlet for me, but I have also had the pleasure of being a part of the art community, and have since met some of the most important people in my life. Art has always brought people together, to create is a human’s birthright. Being connected with people who share the same passion for art as I do has been critical to my development as a creator.