My biggest influence is my mom. Her story is an inspiration to me and drives me to work hard for what I want. My mom was born in Mexico where she and her three brothers were raised by my grandma who was a single mom. My grandma was hardworking but struggled to provide for them on her own. At only seven years old, my mom and her brothers sold candy on the streets to help her get by and relied on the charity of others for things like clothes and school supplies. My mom told me that back then, her biggest dreams were simple things like owning a new dress, or a nice pair of shoes. She had to work for the entirety of her childhood, She graduated high school and got married to my dad at eighteen. She and my dad worked many jobs to get by, when my two sisters were born they began struggling to keep up with the bills. She told me they sometimes didn't have enough money to eat and she would even struggle to produce breastmilk for my sister when she was a newborn. That's when my parents decided to immigrate to the U.S. for a chance at better work opportunities and to give their kids a better life. I was born here in the U.S shortly after and so was my little sister. All together my mom was in her early twenties with four kids, juggling work and parenting in a country where she did not speak the language. When I was about 10 years old, my parents got a divorce and my mom became a single parent. She worked as a waitress in the same restaurant for almost 14 years. She couldn't help us with our school work, but she always encouraged us to have big dreams and goals. My mom was always very independent and has taught herself to do everything she ever needed. She couldn't always give us everything we wanted, but she made sure to give us everything we needed to succeed in life. She knows how to fix cars and build things from scratch. She taught herself English and was able to pass her U.S citizenship exam. When I was in my last year of high school she decided to go to college and got a degree in cosmetology. Right now, she has her own small business and has seen a lot of success with it. I'm so incredibly proud to be the daughter of such a strong, kind, and hard-working person as her. I know what a privilege it is for me to be able to study art and animation. It was a hard journey getting here, but I now have opportunities that my parents didn't have growing up. I want to show them and my family that my accomplishments are a product of their love, hard work, and support. When I graduate, I want to promote diversity and inclusion in my work. I believe that proper representation can inspire people like me and my parents to pursue their big dreams. I want to be a story artist that creates work inspired by my family and my culture. I hope that one day I'll be able to give back to my community and support aspiring artists like me.

The time I overcame the fear of leaving my stable job to chase my dreams as an artist. I had always wanted to study art and animation. It was my dream growing up and still is. I liked to draw from the moment I could hold a pencil, and now at 26 years old, I dedicate myself to it, but the journey here wasn't easy. My parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico in 1993, and I was the first person in my family to be born here. My parents worked hard to support me and my siblings but life at home wasn't easy. At school, I didn't fit in with my peers as a kid. I kept to myself and spent my time drawing and writing stories. After graduating high school, I took some drawing classes in my local community college as a hobby but mostly dedicated myself to working and saving money. I got married at 23 and college became more difficult to continue since I needed to work full time to cover the bills. At that point in life I'd given up on college, I had no confidence in my drawings, and was afraid of spending money on college only to fail and go into debt. My husband always pushed me to not give up and to keep trying to take classes, but I didn't want to put that financial burden on him. At that time, I think he believed in me more than I believed in myself. I worked at the same job for years, and I was comfortable there. I made good money and the work environment was easygoing but I never truly felt happy. I was a secretary and my daily life was consistent with paperwork. It wasn't until the year 2020 that things changed. During the height of the pandemic, I lost a lot of people in my family. It had a huge impact on my mental health. I went into a long and terrible depression. I found it difficult just to wake up in the morning, and it took everything for me to go to work every day. Losing so many people in the span of a year made me realize how precious life is. I wanted to leave my job and pursue art but I was terrified. My husband was making more money than he was when we first got married, and he convinced me that he could support me through school, But that would mean sacrificing a lot. we would only barely be getting by on bills, we won't be able to save up for a house like we had been planning, I would be putting us into debt with student loans and on top of everything, I didn't have confidence in my art. But I remembered the family I lost, and how much they believed in me. It was terrifying, but I took the risk and left my job last year to pursue my dreams. It's not easy, my husband and I have sacrificed so much for this opportunity, and I'm still struggling to pay my tuition every semester, but I'm making the most of it. The college has been a dream, I love every second of it. Last semester I was put on the dean's list for my high grades and my art has improved tremendously. I feel like I have control over my life again. I don't just want to be good, I want to excel. I owe it to myself, My husband, and my family.