I entered a small room for my first voice lesson in 2017. I considered myself a professional shower singer. Voice lessons could not be too different, right? However, when I began voice lessons that year, I had no idea the journey I was beginning. Two years later, in 2019, my siblings and I joined a choir that rehearsed every Thursday evening. We would drive an hour each week to practice with fifty others in preparation for a Christmas concert. Choir was monumental in my musical journey. It taught me to blend with other voices and be a team player. In choir, I could not sing like I was doing a solo. It taught me to blend with others in my section and with the choir as a whole. While in choir, we participated in many competitions and concerts, and in 2020, I contested for the first time in the Male Vocal Solo competition. To my surprise and amazement, I placed first! And I continued to place first each of the next three years! I also participated in many quartets, ensembles, duets, and large ensembles while in choir. During my senior year of high school, my voice teacher encouraged me to do a senior recital. On May 26, 2023, I performed my first solo voice recital and had an amazing time. I performed Latin, Italian, and English songs for the recital. Currently, I am pursuing my music career at Maranatha Baptist University. I am studying Vocal Performance as my minor and have enjoyed learning more about Latin and Italian languages and have been studying French and German pieces as well. The minor requires me to practice voice for five hours a week on top of an hour-long voice lesson. During future semesters, I will perform junior and senior recitals. While at Maranatha, I have had many opportunities to join small groups and quartets. I auditioned for the summer singing group during the past school year and was asked to join the Praisemen Quartet, a traveling ministry team. By the end of this summer, we will have been on the road for twelve weeks, singing and performing for different churches, schools, and camps. This experience has taught me a lot about the traveling life of a musician. I have chosen to pursue music because it is a language I love singing. Music has a way of speaking to people that mere words cannot do. One of my voice teachers explained to me that if you are given a gift, it is disrespectful to the Giver to throw it away. I have been given this gift of singing and music and it would be foolish to throw it away. As I have spent more time on stage, I have grown to love the smiles and tears that I see in the audience. When what I am singing touches them and gives them a little hope, it is all worth it. That is why I am choosing to pursue music.

How My Storytelling Can Make a Difference When I was younger, my brothers and I filmed silly videos of us performing trick shots with water bottles, pens, and golf balls. Within these videos, we entertained our audience with silly and sometimes crazy snippets from our daily lives. I loved taking clips and editing them together to tell a story. During this time, my love for storytelling through film started to grow. As I grew, I began evaluating movies and noticing story arcs and designs used by the directors. When reading books, I would analyze them to discover what made them attractive and interesting. Then, I purchased online film courses and learned what it meant to be a good storyteller. My favorite classes discussed components of a good movie, the hero's journey, explaining the gospel through filmmaking, and keeping an engaged audience. These topics opened my eyes to making good stories and the importance of high-quality storytelling. Currently, I am pursuing a collegiate degree in filmmaking and I have learned even more about stories and their important role in our lives. When asking someone how their day went, we anticipate a good story. We all laugh at memories of Grandpa’s enormous fish catch or our best friend’s airport experience. We love listening to stories because stories help us relate to one another. Stories are how we engage and communicate. How do I plan to use that to make a difference and change the world? One story at a time. Whether these stories are encased in movies, music, or messages spoken on stage, stories will help change our world but only if they are told one story at a time. When Jesus walked the earth, He told countless stories. Why? People connect with stories in a way that they will not connect only with facts. Stories have been designed by God to help us understand ourselves, those around us, and our world. By telling the greatest story ever told, we can reach so many people for the cause of Christ. He has called us to tell the story of His love, and that is my desire and purpose in life. One step toward changing the world will be sharing my testimony with others. Another step will be using my gift of filmmaking to tell an important message so that others hear. And a further step will be encouraging others to tell their stories. Each of these steps will help change the world one story at a time. But it all starts with me being willing to share the stories God has given me just as I did as a kid with my brothers.

I have been surrounded by stories growing up. Mom would read books to the six of us kids at lunchtime. While doing chores around the house, we were encouraged to listen to books and I discovered many favorites. Mom set a movie time for us every day at 4 o’clock. This was our chance to watch an old favorite or find a new story that would soon become a family favorite. Stories were all around me growing up and I am so thankful. I realized my love of stories in the books and movies I grew up with, in the impact these books and films had on me, and in the education I have chosen to pursue at college. First, the books and movies I grew up with helped shape my love for stories. Mom surrounded us with quality stories. Growing up, we read books such as Echo, The Mysterious Benedict Society Series, The False Prince Saga, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many more. Throughout the school day, we would have books read to us or we would curl up in a corner and read. Mom also gave us time to find stories of our own during movie time. We discovered our love for The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, old Disney movies, and old TV show entertainment such as The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It to Beaver, The Lone Ranger, and more. These books, movies, and shows helped develop my love for stories. Second, these books and movies impacted me and developed my love for stories. Stories are the way we connect. When I ask about someone’s day, I hate getting one-word answers. I love to hear someone tell me a story from their day. Stories help us relate with each other and realize the truths and little miracles we experience every day. The books and movies I grew up watching helped me understand what qualities make a good story. It introduced me to new concepts and ideas that I needed to understand and begin thinking about. My love for stories continued to grow. I began to take film classes through two different online film schools. I dived deep into film theory and how to communicate a story to the audience effectively. I love seeing the impact that stories have on people's lives. Getting to share these stories with others has become my passion and goal. Third, my love for stories led me to college where I am studying Communication Arts with a focus on film and AV production. This degree allows me to understand more about the technical side of filming, how stories impact our world, and how I can use them to reach others. I am not sure where God is going to lead me after college but I hope to use my degree to continue telling stories. I love working with people and getting to work with friends at college on different film and production projects as we tell stories have been amazing. In conclusion, the books and movies I grew up with, the impact of these books and movies, and my education at college have helped me pursue my goal of telling stories to others. Stories connect us, and I hope to tell them until I die.

“Deference. Showing respect and esteem to another person. Honor. Giving in to another person’s wishes, desires, and opinions.” Every morning Mom would have us kids repeat this. It was just a phrase that I memorized at the time, but now it means more. As I have gotten older, I have realized how this concept of selflessness and putting others ahead of myself is worth it. I find joy when I give in to someone else’s wishes, desires, and opinions and think of them more than I think of myself. Joy is not found in satisfying ourselves. Joy is found in satisfying others. At the end of 2020, God provided me with an opportunity to show selflessness and honor. Through this, He showed me how I could use my talents to honor and lift something other than myself. While we were stuck in our house during Covid, we were not able to go to church. Instead, we would watch other churches’ live streams. While this was needed, it did not feel like our church home and we did not get to see and hear our pastor preach. At the time, our church did not have a streaming system in place but that is when God stepped in. He put a burden on my heart to begin researching how much it would cost to invest in a live-streaming system for our church. I spent many hours watching videos and researching products, trying to find the right equipment and software that we would need. After completing most of the research I sat down with our pastor and presented the plan. How much it would cost. How it would all work together. And how it would benefit our congregation. The church purchased the equipment we needed and I had the chance to build the computer that we still use today, two years later. Through this experience, I had to set aside my hobbies to work on the live stream system. I spent many hours of the day and sometimes into the night researching a problem I was encountering. Today I sit behind the computer and help share the good news of the gospel with our online audience. My name is not in the credits. No one sees my face or knows that I run the stream and that is fine with me. I do what I do because I love to serve others. When I get the chance to help someone and help them achieve a goal, I am satisfied. In the case of my church, I am blessed to share the service with someone who may be sick or homebound. I have the opportunity to share the message that God has given to my pastor. By giving back to my church, I practice selflessness and deference by using my talents for someone else’s glory. I had the opportunity to give and not expect anything back. I am fulfilled by serving. And by serving others, I am satisfied. In the future, I plan to keep serving others. By attending college I will learn how to communicate and serve others. I cannot wait to see where God leads me. Whether I am heading up a live stream in my church or leading the congregation in worship, I plan to serve others continually.

Too often, people are too concerned with being better in the future, but I desire to be different today and make a difference in the lives of others today and every day after.

“Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.” - E. Y. Harburg Music has a way of breaking down walls that no other form of communication has. It has a way of encouraging, strengthening, and convicting someone. It has the power to make people shed tears and yet has the power to bring together bands of brothers. I discovered my love for music at a young age. That love began because my family would play CDs while doing daily chores. When my siblings and I were bored, we would put on a Gaither Vocal Band CD and pretend like we were up on stage, singing in front of hundreds of people. Little did I know that years later I would be up on stage myself. In 2018, I began taking private voice lessons and have progressed through three voice teachers. During the summer of 2019, my family and I joined a week-long music school and were amazed by all the things we learned. From breath support to dynamics, my head was spinning by the time we headed back home, but I had fallen in love with it. In the fall of 2018, we joined a homeschool choir and are still a part of it today. Through this choir, I was able to join small ensemble groups as well as duets and trios. Each year the choir participates in a music competition and for the past four years in a row, I was honored to have won the male vocal solo award. It was a neat opportunity to perform and have others judge my singing. They gave me pointers on things to work on and encouraged me to keep singing and use my talent for the Lord. I was also able to join our choir’s summer ministry program the past two years where we travel around to different churches in our state and share the good news of the gospel with them. It is such a neat opportunity to use my talent to bless others. In the fall, I will be attending Maranatha Baptist University and minoring in Church Music. With this degree, I hope to continue to bless others and honor God wherever he decides to guide me. I hope to join music ministry teams while at college and continue to travel and share the gospel with others through song. After college, I hope to continue to use music in my everyday life by owning a recording studio. By having my studio it would allow me to record and produce songs that I love while building my skills as a musician. Wherever God guides me in the future, I want to be able to use what He has given me and give it back to Him. I want to see the smiles on people’s faces when I sing about heaven. I want to see walls fall as the lyrics of a song impact a teenager’s life. I want to sing and not be afraid of sharing my gift and the gospel with others. But most of all, I want to honor Christ and point others to Him.

“Deference. Showing respect and esteem to another person. Honor. Giving in to another person’s wishes, desires, and opinions.” Every morning Mom would have us kids repeat this. It was just a phrase that I memorized at the time, but now it means more. As I have gotten older, I have realized how this concept of selflessness and putting others ahead of myself is worth it. I find joy when I give in to someone else’s wishes, desires, and opinions and think of them more than I think of myself. Joy is not found in satisfying ourselves. Joy is found in satisfying others. At the end of 2020, God provided me with an opportunity to show selflessness and honor something else than myself. Through this, He showed me how I could use my talents to honor and lift something other than myself. While we were stuck in our house during Covid, we were not able to go to church. Instead, we would watch other church’s live streams while this was needed, it did not feel like our church home and we did not get to see and hear our pastor preach. At the time, our church did not have any kind of lives streaming system in place but that is when God stepped in. He put a burden on my heart to begin researching and figuring out how much it would cost to invest in a live-streaming system for our church. I spent many hours watching videos and researching products, trying to find the right equipment and software that we would need. After completing most of the research I sat down with our pastor and laid out the whole plan. How much it would cost. How it would all work together. And how it would benefit our congregation. The church purchased the equipment we needed and I had the chance to build the computer that we still use today, two years later. Through this experience, I had to set aside my hobbies and work on the live stream system. I spent many hours of the day and sometimes into the night researching a problem I was encountering. Each week I sit behind a computer and help share the good news of the gospel with our online audience. My name is not in the credits. My name is not mentioned at the beginning or end of each stream, and that is fine with me. I do not care to see my name in the lights. I do not like to be recognized for what I do. No one sees my face or knows that I run the stream and that is fine with me. I do what I do because I love to serve and honor others. When I get the chance to help someone and help them achieve a goal, I am satisfied. In the case of my church, I am blessed to share the service with someone who may be sick or not able to attend church. I have the opportunity to share the message that God has given to my pastor. By helping my church set up live streaming I was able to practice selflessness and deference by using my talents for someone else’s glory and not my own. I had the opportunity to give and not expect anything back. I am fulfilled by serving. And by serving others, I am satisfied.

“People forget facts, but they remember stories.” - Joseph Campbell, American professor of literature I find it interesting that humans retain stories more than facts. In a society that wants everything here and now, it intrigues me that people would prefer a long story to memorize dates and short facts. I believe we retain stories better than facts because we can relate to the stories and feel connected to them because they tell of people who are just like us. Growing up my family would read books daily. During family devotions, each of us would read a verse from the chapter we were studying. Each night we read and heard the stories of Christ and His love. Mom encouraged us boys to read privately as well. One year I decided to read fifty books. All of the books I read contained stories of people who had overcome some sort of trial. They persevered when it was hard and that encouraged me. It taught me that even fiction can teach truth and morals. Not only could I gain historical facts while reading biographies but I could also learn faithfulness, love, and trust. I also learned these morals from movies that we would watch as a family. On Valentine’s Day each year, we would always watch “Fireproof”, a movie about a man who decides that he wants to save his marriage. Only by God’s grace and power is his marriage restored. Movies like this and many more taught me biblical truths and encouraged me to serve and trust the Lord. I love stories. I love reading about others who have been through trials and storms. They tell me how they made it through and how, with the grace of God, I can as well. I love watching movies that leave me thinking rather than filling me with laughter and entertainment. My goal in life is simply this, to tell others my story of finding Christ and to tell them Christ’s story. I want others to hear and see the story of what God is doing in my life and I want to use my talents and abilities to tell those stories that point to Christ. By going to Maranatha Baptist University and attaining a degree in Communication Arts, I will be able to more effectively tell about the One who saved me. By taking classes about media in the modern world and by learning how I should be using my influence to reach others, I will be able to better explain and communicate the gospel to others. Books and films have had a huge impact on my life and have told me many stories that I can tell others. They have influenced me by giving me real-life examples of God’s faithfulness and love. My goal in life is to tell others of God’s faithfulness and love toward me. To tell the old, old story to as many people as I can. By using the gifts that God has given me, I want to tell the story, the story of His love.

”Tee dum, tee dee, a teedle ee do tee day!” my brothers and I would sing as we watched Peter Pan. Later as we romped and played through the woods, we would pretend to be the lost boys following John our leader trying to find Indians. We were not merely watching this great adventure take place, we were one of those lost boys. I would roll my eyes when my sisters insisted that we watch Pollyanna over Old Yeller. We would hug our pillows as the 101 Dalmatians were about to be discovered by Jasper and Horace. We would cheer and heave a sigh of relief when Cimba finally made it back home and defeated Scar. All of these memories bring a smile to my face. And they all happened when we watched a Disney movie in our living room. Around our house, 4 o’clock was always movie time. I believe Mom let us watch a movie during this time so she could get a break from having to watch all six of us kids. Each day one of my siblings would get to pick out the movie and more often than not, it was a Disney movie that we would sit down and enjoy. We were able to watch good quality, uplifting movies that taught truths that were solid and grounded. They were entertaining and gave us songs to sing and stories to tell. I learned of Marlin’s determination to be reunited with his son in Finding Nemo. No matter how far his son had gone, Marlin loved him so much that he would befriend a forgetful fish named Dory. He cared so much that not even sharks or divers could keep him from being with his son. I learned of the love and compassion we should have for others from Beauty and the Beast. Even though the beast seemed scary and rude, Belle decided to love him even though he looked drastically different from normal people. She took the high road and loved him even when it was tough. I grasped the determination that Jack Kelly showed in Newsies. Jack wanted him to find his Santa Fe. He wanted to find somewhere that was simple, with a moon “so big and yella”. My favorite thing about Disney is the stories. To me, stories are how this world shares guidance and wisdom from generation to generation. We get to see people succeed or learn a lesson that benefits them for the better. It gives us strength and hope. It gives us determination and examples of love. It gives us time to spend with family. These movies show us that we can succeed as long as we have determination like Jack Kelly and love like Marlin. Stories are how we connect with other people and learn who they are and what they have been through. Disney tells these stories in a captivating and cinematic way so that we may learn of these stories and benefit from them. Even if one day my kids may never know who Elsa is or why “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is the best song in the world, I can share with them stories of hope, love, and trust. I can share with them Disney stories. Stories that will last a lifetime or perhaps even longer.

When I was younger, I hated taking the lead and telling others what to do. My hands would get clammy and my forehead would get wetter than the deep blue sea. I did not like the attention and the pressure of everybody watching me and expecting me to know what was going on and to have all the answers. Growing up with five siblings and being the second youngest in a family of eight did not give me the chance to lead that often. I was the sibling that would get told what to do. If one of my sisters need a tissue to blow her nose but did not want to miss the last few minutes of Berenstain Bears, I was the one who ran and got it for her. If my brother wanted to use a toy first, I would give it to him because he was older and bigger than me. I was a follower, not a leader. Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed my childhood. I was able to help and be a part of the moment but I was always following. I never led. I never showed others what to do. I never took control. Until recently, I was ok with following but then something changed. I began to get myself involved in more situations where I had to lead. I began my film business/hobby and filmed weddings for people as well as music videos. In these situations, I had to lead. The people I was filming would turn to me and ask what they should do and where they should be. I was now having to tell others what to do and I was scared. I did not enjoy getting to tell others to do this and that because I knew if something went wrong it was my fault and I was responsible, but through it all I learned a very important lesson. Leaders can be scared and do not have to have it all figured out. During my time leading, there were situations where I had no idea how to resolve the issue. I was afraid that my product would turn out badly because I had an unresolved problem. But in this, I learned to not be afraid and to ask for help. I learned to not let myself get overwhelmed, to calm down, and ask for help. A leader is not someone who has all the answers. A leader is someone who knows where to find the right answers. I learned as a leader to ask for help when I needed it. Even though I was good at filming people and making the video look amazing, I was not the best at arranging couples or posing people. What did I do? I would ask the photographer if I could grab a shot after she was done taking her photo and posing the couple. I would ask someone better at arranging people to help me make the choir I was filming look the best. I have learned a lot during my time leading, and now I am not so scared. But I still look for people who are smarter and better than me to help me get the best outcome.

When I first joined the choir I was absolutely afraid of Lauri Wood. I would make the slightest mistake and she would hear it. I would have a voice crack and she would look at me. If I did the unthinkable and was on the wrong page, I might get “the look”. In the fall of 2018, my siblings and I joined a homeschool choir for no other reason than just to try it out. We had been singing together as a family for a couple of years and decided to try this homeschool choir and see if it was worth anything. Upon joining we were met with Miss Lauri Wood our new choir director. When I say choir director, you may think of someone who stands at the front of the choir, flails their arms about, and gives the singers cues. They do not do much they just tell the choir when to come in and cut off. This is what I thought when I first joined the choir and what I thought of other choirs, but my perspective on this changed very quickly. Miss Wood directed the choir like no one else I have ever seen and she led that choir with commanding presence and power. If you were doing something she did not like, whether that was a vowel you were singing wrong or spending too much time looking at the girl in the front row and not at her, she would let you know by pointing you out and giving you “the look”. She knew what she wanted and she usually got it one way or another. In the fall of 2019, we began private voice lessons with her and after I got over the fear of singing in front of her, I have come to respect and love her. She has taught me so much from her work ethic and leadership to her dedication to the choir and love for her students. To first-time students, it may seem like she is being rough when she tells it like it is and complains that the choir is performing poorly, but she tells her students the truth. Complements are rare treasures; when you are rewarded with one, it is a gift. Over the past five years, Miss Lauri has taught me to never settle for ok. She has taught me to push myself not only musically but also spiritually and physically. She has given me opportunities to be a leader with the other high school guys and has trusted me with certain songs or parts because she knows that she has trained and taught me well. She has encouraged me to chase my dreams and continue my education at college. She has inspired me to find a college that has a high music standard and she has encouraged me to never forget about her and to come visit often. She has instilled in me the desire for good quality music and to pursue where God is guiding me. She has taught me to love others and do the best I can. I leave for college in late August and we have already agreed that we will both cry at my last choir concert. I get a weird feeling in my stomach just thinking about it. Miss Lauri has taught me so much and leaving her and the choir will be one of the hardest things I have to do, but I know she will be praying for me and encouraging me to keep chasing my dreams.

Growing up, I used to love the upbeat, foot-stomping, chest-pounding kind of songs that would get your heart pumping, head sweating, and feet moving but as I have gotten older I found myself gravitating towards the slower songs. Songs that have good quality lyrics and that say something that speaks to the trial or issue I am going through. I hope to positively impact the world through my music by doing two things. I hope to encourage those that hear my music and I hope to point them to Christ. Music should be used to uplift and encourage someone. I cannot tell you how many times I have been feeling lonely, depressed, beaten, tired, or discouraged. But when I decided to stop, take a minute, and listen to the artist and what they were saying that my heart was lifted up and I felt encouraged. My soul was encouraged when listening to lyrics from “Truth Be Told” by Matthew West. My eyes brightened when I was told I was not alone in “You Will Be Found” by Dear Evan Hansen. When I sing I want what I am saying to impact someone positively but I also want to point them to the creator of music, Jesus Christ. The greatest message we could ever tell someone is the good news of the gospel and that is what I desire to share with others through my music. Changing the world or even impacting it positively seems like a big task, but this is how I plan to impact the world. I plan to impact the world positively through my music one listener at a time. Reaching the world is a big goal and would take a lifetime and then some to reach the entire world, but as long as I do my part to spread my music and use the reach that God has given me, then I will change the world or at least my corner of it. I may not be able to change the whole world, but I want to positively impact every single person that comes into contact with my music.

“Music is like food” my choir director stated one night at our weekly choir rehearsal. “What kind of music you listen to will affect how you sing and what you do.” She said this to help us gain a better sound as a choir but I believe it means more than that. Music has shaped the way I view the world in three ways: emotionally, culturally, and reflectively. Music can emotionally impact you. Whether we realize it or not, we are engaging with the lyrics and listening intently to what the singer is saying and the message they are giving in the song will impact us. Music can also impact your mood. If you have ever gone to a race you will hear them playing loud, upbeat music to pump up the runners and get them ready to run the best pace in their life. If you go to an expensive restaurant they often have quiet, soothing music in the background to set the mood and make you feel comfortable. Music affects me emotionally by helping me work through a problem or a struggle by giving me something to hold on to and lean on. Music can culturally impact you. When you hear the sounds of a bagpipe your mind immediately goes to men in kilts. Why is that? It is because we have associated bagpipes with a cultural identity. The same can be said with the banjo. When you hear a banjo your mind thinks of an old dude on the porch of his worn-down house plucking away without a care in the world. Music has a cultural impact and it has affected the way I view the world in that I link certain sounds and types of music to different cultures. When I hear a song in 6/8 time with many sixteenth notes and common Irish melody, my mind goes to the Celtic culture. Music can reflectively impact you. A well-written song makes you look within. If a song talks about your only love leaving you, yes this song may resonate with you and you may feel and understand what the artist is talking about but it does not encourage you and positively lift you. A good song should resonate with you, meet you where you are, and then encourage you to get up and do the right thing. The song “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen comes to mind. It starts out asking you if you have ever felt alone but then it encourages you to stand up and look around and see that someone will come running to help you. Music should help us to look within. Music impacts the way I see the world because it impacts me emotionally, culturally, and reflectively. It helps me express myself when I am feeling depressed or lonely but it also helps me to look at myself and ask the important questions. It helps me to recognize the different cultures and traditions that music has with people and why those sounds and instruments are amazing. Music is one of the most amazing gifts God has given us. We should use it to honor him and point others to Him to impact the world for Christ.

Gathered around our family living room, we all listen intently as a voice echoes from our sound system. On this night our tv is off, our phones are down, our ears are listening, and our minds are imagining. Mom had picked an audiobook out a few weeks ago and after listening to it herself she enthusiastically told us that we must listen to this book. I hugged my pillow as Friedrich walked down the lonely street accompanied only by his harmonica. I squirmed in my seat as Mike gazed upon the glorious grand piano. And I leaned forward as Ivy entered an abandoned house and discovered a mystery. Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan is one of my favorite books. It will grab your interest from the first page. It will hold it and mold it as you turn page after page learning more about each character and their story. It is a story of a harmonica that makes its way to three different people, in different countries, with different lifestyles, at different ages, but it all works together for good. You accompany this harmonica as it makes its way into the hands of a twelve-year-old boy who is looked down upon because of the birthmark that covers his face. In a growing Nazi German community, he is looked at as an outcast but the harmonica gives strength to Friedrich and helps him stay strong. You follow the harmonica as it finds a lonely orphan, Mike Flannery, and his younger brother as they are pulled from poverty to luxury and have to win the heart of Mrs. Sturbridge who wanted to adopt a girl and not a boy, let alone brothers. And finally, you travel with the harmonica as it lands in the hands of Ivy Lopez as she suffers under institutional racism and her family ties with the Yamamotos puts her and her family in danger. These three stories are weaved together into an ultimate orchestral finale as all three of these individuals end up at the same concert hall, on the same night, but have no idea that this harmonica has played a part in bringing them together. I love this book because it shows how everything works together. It shows that everything has a purpose and when we do what is right, we become part of the bigger picture.

I love research. If I have to solve a problem I will research the problem and figure out the best solutions and the best way to solve it. I am a filmmaker. I love to create videos that encourage and inspire. When I first started I did not have the best equipment which means I would improvise to the best of my ability to attain the look I wanted. When I was learning about how to light videos I ran into a problem. I did not have the expensive equipment that the filmmakers I was watching had and I couldn’t afford the gear they were recommending. After thinking and trying to figure out how to afford the gear I thought I needed, I realized I did not need the big expensive gear. I could use what I had to solve my problem. I took what gear I had around the house and applied the skills I was learning and tried my best. And I learned. My videos may not have looked the best, but I was taking what I had learned and applying it. Too often we get caught up in what we need and not what we have. All we need is all we have. I took this principle, applied it, and I learned. Sure my videos looked better once I got the more expensive equipment but the principles I learned while using what I had will never be replaced. I see too many average-looking videos online and this tells me that people don’t know how to create high-quality content either because they don’t want to learn or merely because they have never learned how to do it properly. I would love to teach others how to create content that would enhance their videos and help them gain an audience. There are already a ton of videos out there that show you film concepts. And several have a budget option or how to start filming for beginners. I would love to teach others concepts that I have fallen in love with. Many people are looking for relevant, relatable, and shareable information regarding film and I would love to help them. I could start Facebook and Instagram pages that would help beginners to take what they have and learn the skills before breaking the bank. I could start a YouTube channel where I would help explain beginner topics to people and encourage them to use what they have. I could also start a blog and send out a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter that would explain a common film concept to others. Ultimately, I would love to teach people that they can succeed. They can create amazing content as long as the apply what they are learning.

From when I was a little kid, I loved hearing stories and getting to imagine my own story or read others’ stories. I create because I can tell others my story and encourage them by sharing what I have gone through. The reason I love creating digital media whether it is a video or a comp image, I love the storytelling, the arc, and the hero’s journey they are able to go on. Each design is a chance to help someone or give them a fresh look at life. With media these days it is so easy to get something created for you and while it may seem like a good quality and is, you lose the joy of creating something yourself. With a design you create yourself, you can invest in the project and tell a story that others may have not heard but can relate to and learn from. Media should not just be meaningless design, we should seek to encourage and tell others about God through our creations. With advancements in artificial intelligence, it may seem like designers and content creators may not be needed as much in the future, but I believe they will still be needed. The computer is an amazing invention and can create amazing comp images, but they lack a soul. Humans were created with an amazing ability to tell stories and bring joy to each other. The things we create are so much more than just good examples of art, they are opportunities to share what we have gone through and the joy and pain we have endured. Artists put in their time and God-given talent and that is what makes a design priceless. Media and digital arts are amazing things and I love being able to pick up my computer and design something that will possibly change someone’s life if I put in the time and effort. We all have a story to tell and to share with others. My story is a story of grace and God’s forgiveness and I want to use digital media to tell others that story.

Growing up, I would spend countless hours on our home computer reverently playing around and changing the settings to see what would happen. I would accidentally change something that was not supposed to be changed and Mom would have to figure out how to undo what I had done, but I learned a lot through those experiences. I quickly learned to not hit erase permanently. I learned to never hit "Reset this PC". But I also learned that messing up while learning is ok, as long as you continue to get back at it and learn from your mistakes. I also loved to take apart old computers we had around the house and explore what the inside was like. At the time, I had no idea what a motherboard and CPU were, but it helped me learn from an early age that computers were comprised of smaller parts and that they could be removed and switched out. Technology has always been a love of mine. I am constantly analyzing what kind of phone someone is holding and what the newest OS update has that is different from the previous version. The aspect that I find most interesting in technology is that it is always changing. This may be the cause of fear for some people. Things change so quickly and they find that disturbing because they cannot keep up with the change, but I find it encouraging. There is always something new to learn. There is always something new to master. If a new phone or software update comes out, I cannot wait to research it and see what makes this device or OS update better than the previous version. Why would people purchase this year's model over last year’s model? These kinds of research projects are my favorite and I love getting to expand my knowledge on technology topics. I have taken and am taking several online classes in Visual Communications, Adobe Photoshop, Online Communication, and Website Design. Projects I have worked on include composite images, research papers, and careful analytical diagnoses. I built a live-streaming PC for my church when we decided to begin our online outreach ministry. This was the first PC I had ever built and looking back on it, it may not have been the best idea, but my parents and my pastor trusted me and let me build the live-streaming system we still use at our church today. Researching the right parts and the right software, I built the computer, installed the software, and learned so much about how computers work. How the RAM works with the CPU and the GPU, and all the different aspects of the motherboard. Getting to install the software and set up each program for live-streaming took some time, but it was a process I enjoyed and sometimes hated. Even though I had times when I wanted to give up because a certain program was not working correctly or when Windows would not install correctly, I have to keep pushing on and doing my best. In the end, I learned so much from that experience and use the skills I learned from that project in my everyday life.