Where do I begin? The Arts are my life. More specifically, Visual Arts. Movies. Photography. There is so much that can be conveyed with a simple image to the point where I believe it is the ultimate form of human expression. It took me way too long to figure that out. As I pondered for a long time, what I’m actually passionate about in this life. What inspires me. What truly causes me to jump out of bed with excitement. Every night, I dream of taking all kinds of photos. And every day, I go out and shoot and the hours just wile away. I can easily spend every day just shooting what attracts my eye. People, landscapes, animals. I take pictures of them all as there’s art in all things. Art can especially be helpful to chart where you came from. I volunteer for this program that works with foster youth in the South Bronx called Photo Safe. And it’s amazing how powerful it is just for kids to have pictures of their families. Or the fact that so many foster youth don’t even have pictures of when they were young or babies to look back on. And there’s art in that too. Memories and experiences are art. Everything about Art just grabs my attention and keeps me focused. I take Theater class, Art history and Photography as part of art degree with a concentration in Photography. And I’m always excited to learn something new in each of those classes. Whether it’s period artwork from the Baroque and Victorian Eras, amazing photographs from fellow class Photographers or just writing a play and seeing it come to fruition. All of these things spark my imagination and engage my desire to create. To be creative and to display that to the world. I also feel like Art is just the natural design of the world. I mean look at things that seem as trivial as honeycombs that bees make. The geometric patterns, that’s art. Or spiders with their spider webs, how intricate those really are. That’s something intrinsic in our world. And I feel like as artists, we’re just tapping into what’s always existed. Lastly, I think that where I’m from is a huge benefactor on why I chose to be an artist. I mean so much art came from the Bronx, and of course, it’s the place of origin for the birth of Hip hop and hip hop culture. Growing up in our low income neighborhoods, we always aspired for better and we had our musical hero’s to look up to. Artists inspire artists.

Where do I begin? The Arts are my life. More specifically, Visual Arts. Movies. Photography. There is so much that can be conveyed with a simple image to the point where I believe it is the ultimate form of human expression. It took me way too long to figure that out. As I pondered for a long time, what I’m actually passionate about in this life. What inspires me. What truly causes me to jump out of bed with excitement. Every night, I dream of taking all kinds of photos. And every day, I go out and shoot and the hours just wile away. I can easily spend every day just shooting what attracts my eye. People, landscapes, animals. I take pictures of them all as there’s art in all things. Art can especially be helpful to chart where you came from. I volunteer for this program that works with foster youth in the South Bronx called Photo Safe. And it’s amazing how powerful it is just for kids to have pictures of their families. Or the fact that so many foster youth don’t even have pictures of when they were young or babies to look back on. And there’s art in that too. Memories and experiences are art. Everything about Art just grabs my attention and keeps me focused. I take Theater class, Art history and Photography as part of art degree with a concentration in Photography. And I’m always excited to learn something new in each of those classes. Whether it’s period artwork from the Baroque and Victorian Eras, amazing photographs from fellow class Photographers or just writing a play and seeing it come to fruition. All of these things spark my imagination and engage my desire to create. To be creative and to display that to the world. I also feel like Art is just the natural design of the world. I mean look at things that seem as trivial as honeycombs that bees make. The geometric patterns, that’s art. Or spiders with their spider webs, how intricate those really are. That’s something intrinsic in our world. And I feel like as artists, we’re just tapping into what’s always existed. Lastly, I think that where I’m from is a huge benefactor on why I chose to be an artist. I mean so much art came from the Bronx, and of course, it’s the place of origin for the birth of Hip hop and hip hop culture. Growing up in our low income neighborhoods, we always aspired for better and we had our musical hero’s to look up to. Artists inspire artists.

Churches restore and bolster faith. As for what kind of faith, and in what form that takes, depends on you. But everyone needs a sense of Spirituality to flourish. Something to connect to, that gives meaning to our lives and thereafter. Sometimes we may even have a personal connection to a church. Maybe we grew up there; Learned valuable life lessons that were taught, and through that church became a deeper part of the community in which we lived. For me, that church was the Creston Ave Baptist Church on E 188th St in the Bronx. A staple of the Bronx community, it not only provided stellar religious services and teachings but all kinds of community assistance as well. It provided daycare for struggling and economically disadvantaged families, fed the homeless, provided afterschool activities for the youth and inspired the youth to be part of the ministry and dabble in the arts as well. Whether it was; Gospel, Praise and worship dance, Spiritual theatre or Christmas talent showcase and skits, the church provided people of all ages and backgrounds plenty of ways to connect with our higher faith. And to grow in other ways as well. We had a place for refuge, a place for guidance and a place to feel centered and balanced. I remember that feeling well as it gave me my first foray into the arts and as well as gave me a place to speak with God and praise his name. I'd like to think that it led me to make the best possible choices that I could in life and stay on the right path that God has planned for me. I seek to give that back to the community and ensure that the next generation doesn't miss out on that instrumental counsel. As a volunteer, I've been a part of those same processes and helping out where I can. Whether it's in the food pantry to feed those who are hungry, creating activities for the youth to engage in when they need a second home or simply providing a listening ear. Churches are important in every facet of life but this is doubly true in our underprivileged communities. It can be difficult to achieve what God knows we can when we have significant worries and feel all alone in our struggle. I not only help assuage those concerns but also keep their spiritual connection strong.