Have you ever sat down, and asked yourself; "why am I the way I am?" I have. Growing up as a system child, and one with a learning disability, has made me question so many things about myself. "will I be successful? can I make it? will having ADHD affect me lifelong?" and you know, i've come up with these questions because I realized nobody paid attention to my struggles. Nobody saw that I needed help. People only saw a child who will be failed by systems, and wont really make it past 21 because who cares? but, this drove me into a state of wanting to help others, because I never received it myself. I knew that for a long time I wanted to advocate for individuals that needed more help. Individuals that aren't capable of advocating for themselves, at least I can advocate for them and tell them that they have a voice. everyone has a gift of using their voice. others voice negativity, while others use it to spread their stories, and make positive impacts on the world! individuals who have disabilities deserve the right to use their voice. the power of their voices can encourage others to use theirs too! my goal to changing lives, is first learning acceptance. had I accepted myself from young, and accepted the fact that a lot of things, weren't in my control; I would've felt good about myself in my younger years. and it's important to have people who accept you and love you unconditionally no matter what the disability is or who you are. the disability doesn't make you, YOU. YOU make YOU, YOU. I want to spread awareness on disabilities and why they are so important. I want to create groups and even charities that can fund individuals and help them. I want people to look at individuals who have disabilities and not judge them for it. I want them to be accepted, because they deserve that. they deserve to be treated like human beings along with everyone else. when I volunteered to help children during my summer job last year, I walked in with no experience. I knew my place was to do something with children, I have worked with children with special needs. its not easy. Nothing in life will be easy. but with patience, and giving your time and dedication, can go along way. Sometimes, people just need a bit more reassurance, and a bit more help than others. And that's totally okay. working with children with special needs also broadened my search and I might be getting into art therapy and using it to help individuals who cannot express themselves verbally, but maybe me being an art therapist, can help more individuals with disabilities find their voice. for financial needs, I do receive some financial benefits for college, but for me its not about money, its more so about who I want to be, and what I can do to be a better help, for not just others but for myself too.

as someone who deeply wants to make the world a better place, sometimes it tends to get hard knowing the state of the world right now; but that doesn’t mean I cannot make positive impacts to help the world become less scary, but more welcoming. I want to spread positivity throughout the world that even during our darkest moments, we are still strong individuals. we will always have obstacles that will be planted in our way, to throw us off our balance, but it’s up to us to overcome those barriers and rise above them. the darkness is temporary, the light the comes after the tunnel, is permanent, if you are positive. I want to give back to communities, communities that need us. We need to stop funding unnecessary things, such as things of less value. The trump administration and trump himself does this. We must help people get off of the streets, we need to provide more housing, and shelter people who never asked to be in these predicaments. I want to give back to people because that’s the right thing to do. I want to help people broaden their views on things as well. I want them to think in a more positive light. Negativity all the time isn’t good for our mental health. I also want to spread awareness on the school education system and how flawed they are. I want to also give positive feedback on how we can better educate ourselves and how the education system can be improved for us youth and even for adults as well. as my experience with working with children has made me realize that these children need our help, I’ve seen so many things, such as paras hitting, and not even paying attention to their assigned children. It’s terrible, And it hurts my feelings that some of these parents don’t even know what is going on behind closed doors. These schools need to stop hiring people just because and actually have people who can be fit for the jobs! I want to spread awareness on the impacts of what the people who are leading this country are doing to us people. But at the end of the day, we are only human and can do so much. We can do as much as we can to the best of our abilities. Be kind. Even when things seem so dull, be kind. Because you never know when the day comes and you are struggling and someone is extending an arm to you. Wanting to give a positive impact.

People usually look at art and say, "Hmm, well, it's just art. There's nothing special to it". That is because you are not looking at it with imagination but with a lack of artistic belief. There is always a bigger picture when it comes down to art. Art for me, is something truly remarkable. It is a great way to express emotions and express creativity for certain criteria. As you can tell, I am very passionate about the arts. Why am I so passionate? It is because art makes you feel something unless you are not artistic. It makes you feel warmth; it makes you feel comfortable; it makes you feel furious; it makes you feel revengeful, defeated, conflicted, and undefeated. Art isn't always positive; it can sometimes be negative. But it is how you interpret that negativity, and turn it into positivity. Art has been a great inspiration of hope for people all over the world. Not only does it express emotion, but it expresses how creatively we can turn a situation from negative to positive. For example, COVID-19. Covid-19 was the main cause of isolation and social distancing due to how extreme the virus was, but even though we were separated, we were still able to connect through social media, art, and other interests. During COVID-19, there were also the BLM movements. Many visual artists of the art community also painted murals and more signifying the message of black lives matter and other social justice movements that occurred during that time. Have I mentioned that art comes in different forms? Not just in visuality, but also in songs? Songs have musical artistry. In rap songs, the different tempos and rhythms, the different songwriting styles, and how we express them; that is art. So many songs that I listen to are so relatable it makes me cry; I see the true art and talent in it. For example, my favorite lyricist, phenomenal songwriter, SZA, first name Solana, has come from many challenges during her college time, dealing with drugs, and everything going on, so she resorted to music, which has helped her and shaped her to the person she is today. Outstanding achievements she has made; it almost feels like she writes her songs personally to me, haha! Her recent album, S.O.S., has impacted me. Her song 'Gone Girl' really resonates with me because it is about moving forward from things that have happened and growing from those challenges. That is the significance of art. You resonate with it. You learn and relate to it. That is why I am so passionate about art, because I resonate with it and continue to move forward from many obstacles, and hopefully, I can teach people the significance of art and how, without art, the world will be dull and numb. there is still room for more art significance in this society. We need change. I want people to look through the glass, open their eyes, and make discoveries. I want to help people see that no matter the circumstances, the grass will always be greener on the other side. The world doesn't just end at something small, but rather continues spinning in thought; life keeps going. The deeper significance of life just keeps going. Art can help people look through both lenses black and white. Art really can help people in many ways and I want people to see the true value and how it can open up new imaginary worlds. You have the power to make art anything. Art is anything.