For a long time, I thought I wanted to be an artist simply because it was the thing I did best. But as I got older, that reasoning felt too shallow, and I felt lost about why I wanted to keep pursuing art. I was most interested in the art in comics, but I didn't know how to put my passion into words or explain why I connected to them so much. I would read and reread comics, study them, and take notes about what made them unique and what I liked about them, but I could never put my finger on why I wanted to make them. Eventually, I read a manga by Inio Asano with a character who’s striving to be a comic artist. In a late-night rant to her friend at a bar, she said “I want to write something that doesn’t just move you or bring you to tears for a few seconds. I want it to be something that affects your life in some lasting way. It’s not for escaping reality… it’s for fighting reality.” I had to just sit for a few minutes. I thought, “That's it. She put it in words.” I love all the comics I do because they have each changed the trajectory of my life in some way, from what my art style looks like to how I think about life and see the world. I want to make comics that can do that for other people. I want people who read my comics to feel more at peace with themselves, or like they’re a part of something bigger. This scholarship will help me be able to learn more skills in college to better communicate those feelings, and help get me on a path to inspire others through comics.