Growth has been an instrumental part of my life for the past few years, in fact, it's been almost primarily the focus of every step I've taken since restarting my college journey. As a non-traditional student, I faced an immense amount of worry about my skill-level, my experience, and how my age contributed to feeling like less of a serious student in my given discipline. I've felt like my efforts were wasted, or like time was running out, and this detrimental mindset brought with it miserable days and sleepless nights. This past year, especially, I have come to realize that I'm capable of so much more than I ever imagined. To know that I'm not disadvantaged or of lesser worth for being a student starting late has been the opening of doors for me. It all started with a little self love. I am pursuing art, and in that discipline I'm coming to learn of the wide arrays of differences between students and experiences. I've learned to see that what is created on a page is the result of effort, not just talent, and that one's reservoir of experiences and unique approaches to life are the breath of diversity in any creative piece. To view it that way, it all just took a change in mentality. This change came to me one night like an epiphany. This sudden burst of worldly wisdom came at one of my lowest points, when I stewed over my inabilities and lamented over my shortcomings. The YouTube videos I watched were nothing but white noise to fill in the space of a deafening silence. For some reason, despite ignoring everything else, one video suddenly became clear as day to me. It was the sound of a content creator I watched often. He studied games and creativity, was working to write complex and entertaining storylines combined with beautiful cinematography. He was hardworking, he was successful, and he was nearly 8 years older than me. "We all have points of self doubt," he said, continuing on to add, "we all have points where we're feeling low in life." "We expect so much out of ourselves, and we want to do so much, so we're upset with ourselves when we do less. That's a poisonous way of thinking. It's a poisonous route to take yourself down." I suddenly tuned into every word he said. I suddenly heard as he spoke about the unrealistic expectations we set for ourselves, and how we have to remember to accept ourselves, embrace ourselves, and celebrate our successes. Being happy with myself was important. To keep pursuing my joys and embrace my ambitions while also treating myself as an individual instead of a way to compare myself to another's growth was important. This jumpstarted a journey of self-discovery and searching for my personal happiness. I had to appreciate all of my blood, sweat, and tears, and keep pushing forward to be better than I was and grow through positivity in hard work. I embraced my dreams, embraced my goals, and learned to love myself in pursuit of my dreams. I learned to be happy. I learned to manage stresses in my life by being understanding of myself in moments of weakness. I grew to understand that it was alright to fail, as long as I 'failed forward'. I'm still a happy creative that lives to bring life to art, but I am learning to do it in a much healthier, happier way.

I want to fill the world with creativity, and express deep and effective messages that can change lives through artistic expression. I want to make beautiful pieces that deeply resonate with the people and provide some guidance, relief, relation and/or encouragement to those that consume it. More than anything, my dream is to breathe life into my creations and characters, while also opening up new avenues for people to find ways to subsequently bring their own dreams to life.