Initially, I thought my skills in working in various illustration styles were my weakness as an illustrator because I found many artists developing and successfully achieving their work style as artists create their own "Brand" of work. In contrast, I found myself struggling to find my style of work. However, throughout my four years as an undergraduate student at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, I have learned that styling my artwork style was not necessary as seeking a career in art. Most of all, my flexibility in working in different styles was my strength, not my weakness. Once I realized my possible strength, it allowed me to seek a new world of animation, as I found a potential future career in Visual development. The area of visual development artists has intrigued me in how they are big picture players working to develop the visual ambiance in different production areas, especially in animation and game production. In addition, the wide range of fields in designing environments, characters, storyboards, props, and others fascinated me with the capability of the artists to accommodate various areas and produce narrative works. Knowing that you could work in different design and narrative storytelling areas changed my perspective on being an artist in this contemporary era. As a result, I do not have to dedicate myself to a specific artwork area. Overall given me a new perspective on my future career in the animation industry and more confidence in my artistic strengths and work style.

It seems as if people take the concept of self-care seriously after the crash into the problem, as it looks like it is hard to see the benefit in the long-term, and people take in guaranteed with the fact that they are still "young," or the problem is not in front of them. Thus, I am also one of them that it was not a big problem because I was in my 20s. However, during my undergraduate years, I realized it was all wrong. It doesn't matter whatever age range you are if you don't take care of yourself, your body and mind will deteriorate. Throughout my undergraduate years, I lost control over my sleep schedule, time management, body, and mental health because of my lack of self-care, which eventually affected my academic performance. Therefore, taking care of your body and mind is equally important as both can affect each other. It doesn't matter if you are a student or not. Even though it seems so blunt, and you don't know what will happen in the future, taking "self-care" is significant because it can benefit you in the long term, and training early on will prepare you for the future. Acknowledgment of your current lifestyle and mindset is the first step to knowing what you should improve on. There are accessible resources online and in-person. It is important to take advantage of those; if you need help, take it. Don't feel bad for asking for help. Self-care is better to start early in your life, and I think parents must teach their children about self-care. It may take long and hard for children to understand the importance, but it is important to take the time and patience as it will benefit them in the future and become independent adults.

Despite his personality and the issue with his relationships with people, especially with women, I admire Pablo Picasso as an artist. He created about 50,000 artworks during his lifetime, including paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and ceramics, which could fill twice as Louvre Museum with all his works. It is impressive that he also quotes, "Give me a museum, and I'll fill it." which is absolutely possible. In addition, looking at his works, he has created numerous works in different styles, from realism to abstract. It is incredible to see the flexibility of his skills as an artist, but also in the business side of changing style depending on his client's needs and equally working his way to create his personal artworks. Furthermore, his quotes are motivational and inspiring for me as an artist. Such as the quote "Bad artist copy. Good artist steal", "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist," and "The more technique you have, the less you have to worry about it. The more technique there is, the less there is." are few of my favorite quotes. In pursuing a career in art, the path is a long marathon, and even if you plan well for the future, you never know what to expect. The quotes from Picasso inspire and motivate to learn new techniques and skills even though they might not be necessary. Through Picasso's quotes and works, it is evident that foundational skills are essential, but to be flexible with working in different styles and willing to work in a different area of art will expand our methods to be expressive. His works and styles are evident that they will benefit artists in the long-term no matter what kind of artists or industry-specific you are pursuing.

The graphic novel "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan is one of my favorite books. It has been my favorite book since I first borrowed it from the library in elementary school and now have it on my bookshelf. The book fascinated me with non-linguistic storytelling. I was drawn to the power of the visual form as the graphic novel did not contain words but drawings of the story about a man's experience of immigrating to a new world for his family and his experience of new life. The book is composed of drawings in various sizes and all drawn in black and white with a toned background. It is impressive that even though all drawings are drawn just in black and white with a toned background, the mood of each scene changes and matches the narrative of each scene. Even though it is a graphic novel, all the drawings are very aesthetic and great inspiration for the design element, as each spread drawing of the scenery of the places where the man travels tells a narrative of what kind of place it is. When I was in elementary and even now that I have bought the book for myself, I spent extra time observing all the details that are put into the drawing, which tells a story. Overall, the book "The Arrival" may have been my first step toward my passion for my artistic pathway in pursuing my future career in visual development and concept art, as they both have significant similarities in storytelling.

Whenever it was a rainy day during my elementary school, we could not go outside. Instead, we would play inside instead of playing board games or with my other friends. I would grab a paper and pencil and draw. Now I have shifted my traditional medium to a digital medium, but even now, I still draw. I never knew I would land where I am currently as an art student pursuing to become a visual development or concept artist. Creativity has become part of my life and has been by my side to a point where I unconsciously connected directly and indirectly—such as in my personal life, connecting with new people, and for employment. Most of my creativity is spent on academic work and continuing through my upcoming graduate school. However, other than using my creativity in my academic and studio work, I use it in my spare time in the small hobbies I have. For example, baking, cooking, inventing my original recipes, creating original music on GarageBand by mixing short music tracks or sounds, bracing bracelets using yarns strings, and visiting national parks inspire me to imagine the possible mythical creatures that might live in a particular environment. In addition, the connection I have created with people is built upon by connecting through my artworks and others by looking at people's work. Therefore, I hope to seek employment in the United States of America in the area of interest. I believe my creativity in my portfolio works is key to my success in my achievement. Through my small hobbies and being surrounded by artists, I have and continue to apply my creativity and boost my creativity.

Visiting nature is not part of my routine. However, whenever I have a long vacation, I take the initiative to visit national parks and gardens to experience nature. Experiencing the difference in the environment allows me to reflect and appreciate to be grateful for my life in the city, its convenience, and the support I have from my parents, friend, and the college. In addition, the grandeur of nature and the open sky or landscape ease my anxiety, and I feel that everything will go okay. Thus, it refreshes my mind and be more optimistic about worries in my life. Another reason I love nature is that it is also part of my artistic works. Visiting national parks and gardens inspires me to think about the possible storytelling I could incorporate into my drawing. It is exciting to imagine creatures and characters that might live in an environment I have in front of me. These creative processes through visiting national parks and gardens give me ideas for my next project, and it is also an excellent place for practicing life drawing. Overall, regardless of the getting a better chance of getting bitten by a mosquito, having no internet connection, and having no access to hot water. I love nature. Unfortunately, staying in wild nature is inconvenient for most people, including myself, especially those who have lived long in the city. However, every time I feel the inconvenience, the experience the nature outweighs that feeling of inconvenience. I love nature as it is part of my artistic works to create storytelling works, and it helps my mindfulness and be more optimistic about my life.

The "study" does not only cover simple lectures or reading books, especially for art students. It also includes studio time for working on actual artworks for specific courses. Which sometimes could require more hours than liberal art courses. Throughout my academic years, I found that understanding and acknowledging my limits and putting myself a limit on how many hours I could study and have studio time helped me achieve my academic success. Before then, I could not consistently manage my time, sleep schedule, and routines, which eventually affected my mental and body well-being. Moreover, I found myself overworking because of my perfectionist side of myself. It was becoming to a point where it was unbearable mentally and physically. So, I changed my method of time management by putting myself to the limit of how much I could work for the day. Acknowledging and understanding my limit helped me to give a frame of time to allow me to manage and organize what I could accomplish daily. To manage and organize my time, I use my calendar and a daily checklist connected and shared throughout my computer and phone to plan and check my deadlines and day to ensure I don't overwork myself. The calendar helped me to create reminders for deadlines and schedule my daily study time, but moreover gave me a step back to see how much I have put time into work. In addition, the daily checklist helped me organize my priorities of the work to meet my deadlines. Overall, the new method allowed me to reflect, forgive, and be self-assured for the amount of work I have completed, move on and give myself time to rest. Understanding and acknowledging my limit for the day helped me achieve my academic success.

Throughout my bachelor's degree in illustration at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), I have experience in working with different areas of illustrated works, including editorial, children's picture books, product design, and animated GIFs. With all my experience in various illustrations courses, I have learned valuable skills and knowledge that benefit me for the internships to create editorial illustrations and print products. However, in the end, I have shifted my path into visual development and concept art, which has intrigued me in how they are big picture players working to develop the visual ambiance in different areas of production, especially in animation film and game production. In addition, the wide range of fields in designing environments, characters, storyboards, props, and others fascinated me with the capability of the artists to accommodate various areas and produce narrative works. Furthermore, the flexibility of working across multiple drawing styles has allowed me to realize my skills in working with different drawing styles were my strength and not my weakness. I thought that not having a consistent drawing style was not good to "Brand" my work style. Above all, I devised a possible future career and goal to become a visual development and concept artist using my strength in working with different drawing styles with my passion for storytelling. To achieve my goal, I look forward to studying visual development at the Academy of Art University (AAU) this fall of 2022. I look forward to learning about the industry and improving my artistic skills and portfolio. Also, I look forward to applying for a trainee or internship during my academic year and after graduating. And eventually, be employed as a visual development artist/concept artist in multiple animations or game studios and share what I have learned and support future artists.