Growing up I struggled a lot with anxiety, big crowds were especially the worst. School has always been so stressful for me because of my social anxiety. I realized early in life one of the only things that could calm me down was drawing. Anytime I felt anxious or stressed I would use my creativity to transfer me to a different world. In forth grade my dad was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer. Drawing was the only thing that would get my mind off him. I drew him so many pictures and when he was cured he brought them all home with him. It was not until high-school that I realized the thing that brought me so much peace could be a career. I decided to go to school to be a graphic designer. Upon looking into colleges I was faced with the fact that affording my dream degree would be a lot more expensive than I thought. This of course just made my anxiety worse which is when I started my etsy shop as another outlet for my creativity. This scholarship would make the financial weight lessen a little bit allowing me to have my peace with art once again.

I have always loved Disney. From a young age every toy I wanted was Disney. I went to Disney when I was really young and had a beyond magical time. I saw Mickeys house, ate breakfast with princesses, ate Mickey shaped snacks, and watched fireworks. As an adult I struggled to remember all the details of my trip because I went at such a young age. It was not until a few years later my love for Disney came to fruition. Freshman year of highschool I had the opportunity to go to Disney with my mom for a chorus concert. It was honestly the best time I have ever had. I realised me and my mom where almost identical when it came to our personalities. We ate goodies, bought merch, rode rides, and laughed the whole time. It became our place it felt like we belonged to it and it to us. I didn’t have to worry about my siblings or my dad I had my mom. My favorite thing about Disney is the way it makes me feel, not the food, or the clothes, or the rides. Disney became my safe space, my one place where I could do what I wanted. At Disney all your worries disappear and you can be a kid again without anyone judging you. That it my favorite part. Disney makes it seem like a completely different place, a completely different life. One with laughter, joy, and magic. One with my mom by my side. Unfortunately I have not been back to Disney since freshman year which was 6 years ago. I want to go back more than anything and experience the Disney feeling all over again. Although I have only been twice it made such a huge impact on me and strengthened me and my mothers relationship. We were able to bond over our experience and laugh with each other for hours on end. It truly is a magical place and helped me see my mom as the person she truly is. As an adult I have made a Disney bucket list that I hope to complete with her by my side laughing along the way. One day I want me and my mom to visit every Disney. I am very excited to go to Tokyo Disney one day! Disney gave me a best friend and my other half. Disney gave me time with my mom.

As we all know we as a human race have become infatuated with the new technology of the phone. iPhone, Samsung galaxy, Android, and so many more have become something we all know about. As a teenager I for one can say I am addicted to my phone. I also can say that I have been told that is a bad thing, but is it? Through our phone we have portable access to Police, EMS, Navigation, News, Politics, and so much more. In school students are taught the basics, math, English, Science, and social studies. Nowadays we can continue that education with our phones search engine. If I want to know about the different Laws of our nation all I have to do is look it up. With all of this being said our phones have led us to be a more intelligent species due to our wide variety of knowledge found within a single app. New technology means more intelligence and that is so unbelievably accessible on our cell phones. The technology of the cell phone is truly inspiring and I hope that in my future our technology continues to soar beyond our wildest dreams.

In the world God has made beautiful, we see so many things that are incredibly pure. Children playing, flowers blooming, snow falling, rivers flowing, people coming together, and so much more, With all those things considered, how could you not be inspired as an artist? Recently I have had to become an adult pretty fast and it has been relentless, but during all the horror of realizing we live in quite a scary world I have seen how children so easily ignore all of it for their childish bliss. When I was a child I wanted to draw for fun but as I grow into this new phase of my life I see that maybe my art can bring that bliss back into the lives of adults and show them that even though our world might be scary it is also insanely beautiful. God made the world beautiful in the beginning and nowadays we let sin cloud our judgement in seeing how truly beautiful and pure he made the world. I am inspired everyday to show the hardworking men and women that even though it may seem ruthless and rough, it still is beautiful.

I have wanted to have a career in art since I was a little girl. As a child I was not always good at paying attention in church, so my mom would bring me a pencil and some paper to keep me occupied. I would draw flowers, pencils, books, cubes, etc. I continued drawing when I got into high school and had the opportunity to take art courses thus furthering my education. It wasn't until I got into high school that I realized my art could make a difference. My teacher showed us how to draw and how to use those skills to make pieces that matter. During one of my art courses we were asked to make a piece that would show something big going on. I chose to do mine on body dysmorphia and self esteem. I chose to do my work on this subject matter because I have struggled with it. I am a middle child so all my life my self esteem depended on my siblings and unfortunately they were not the kindest back then. I also have struggled with body dysmorphia based on being in a setting full of cheerleaders. The movies show us as mean, skinny, popular, perfect girls but in all actuality I was no where close. I was skinny, lanky, shy, and unpopular so it was hard for me to feel like I belonged when I had been growing up with the image of cheerleaders being perfect. Coming back to how I want to impact the world through my art. I want to show those little girls that you can be anything, everything, and more that you want to be. You are worth more then you know, and you deserve to have self love. The world needs more confident young women and I strive to show the world how to do that; it can be done with my art.