The greatest turnaround story for my life is when I was able to gain a whole resume and portfolio within a year. When I was in the spring semester of my freshman year at Elon University, I did not have any work experience nor did I have any work to add to my portfolio. Now, I not only have multiple jobs experiences, but some are also minimum wage jobs in my hometown and some are on-campus positions that correlate to my major, I have a diverse group of job experience. I also did not have any work in my portfolio, now I have different work in my portfolio. Some that range from being classwork and some being from on-campus organizations, I was able to show my growth even in a small range of a year. I now am able to use my resume to help me get job interviews and internships. I knew that employers want to hire people with experience and skills, and one person took a chance on me, which was helpful in adding more and more experience to my resume. I at first thought I was not being hired because of my marginalized background but in reality, I need some experience. I am so HAPPY that I was able to take this very stressful thing and somehow be able to gain experiences that make me a great candidate for a lot of programs.

As a lesbian of color, I knew I wanted a job that would help people. I choose on working in television because relating to a character is powerful and helps marginalized people feel seen. This can also spread awareness that everyone does not fit into a white, nuclear family mold. The is the main reason why I would like to work in the television industry because of the lack of diverse developed characters from marginalized communities. Audience members like me shouldn’t feel alienated by a medium we love. I am a big believer in having writers who have experienced discrimination write for those characters. Examples of stereotyping are when writers make non-white characters, criminals, and gang members. Not every person of color has done something illegal or is mixed up in crime, this only shows one side and continues a system of racism. Another stereotype on television shows is the over-sexualization of women and LGBTQ+ characters. I want to change this amount of inclusivity not because there isn’t any, but because many of the most popular shows have little to no diversity and that’s something that needs to be changed. Shows such as“Games of Thrones” are also problematic. Why, in a made-up world, are people of color only slaves or nomads? I won’t stop until women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ characters are included every time and not just to talk about why they are different but to just be themselves. I hope that I can create movies and tv shows where the main characters are all women. They will be a diverse group of women who can be people of color and LGBTQ+ without distracting from having storylines within the world. The male characters will be free from misogyny and let the female characters make their own decisions without speaking over them. The villains are not going to be people of color because they should be able to be portrayed without malice. The female characters should not be sexualized because I will never ask anyone to do anything they are not comfortable with. I hope that one day I can make projects with this diversity and inclusion in mind to help stop stereotypes and celebrate differences. Creating projects like these will help my own communities because marginalized peoples always need someone to represent them in all mediums. I also want to make sure the film and television industry will keep having conversations about always having representation, keeping stereotypes away from portrayals of marginalized communities, and making sure that in addition to having representation on-screen but off-screen too.

My original art piece is a short documentary video about a black Wallstreet. I did not always want to work on documentaries but I was invited to join a documentary program at my university. I knew that I want to make sure that any type of film project would include diversity, inclusion, and marginalized communities. The video is about a similar black community to Tusla, Oklahoma which was known to end by the Tulsa massacre. Living in North Carolina, I knew I would be unable to travel to Tulsa, so I researched places in North Carolina where there was a thriving black community. I found Durham which is 20 minutes away from Raleigh, the state capitol. My own life experiences made me want to talk about diversity and inclusion on any platform I could. I grew up in the south and learned that my ancestors were slaves and sharecroppers in Arkansas. My grandparents went to segregated high schools, so black history is just a part of life. As a black lesbian, I knew I wanted a job that would help people. I choose on working in television and film because relating to a character is powerful and helps marginalized people feel seen. This can also spread awareness that everyone does not fit into a white, nuclear family mold. Audience members like me shouldn’t feel alienated by a medium we love. This is the main reason why I would like to work in the television and film industry because of the lack of diverse, developed characters from marginalized communities.

“What are you?” At some point in elementary school, kids started asking me this annoying question and they haven’t stopped yet. I know why. I don’t look like anyone else. I have tan skin, hazel eyes, and curly light brown hair. I’m not White, but I’m also not exactly Black either. I get it. But the phrasing sounds rude. “What” I am is a person, of course! What they seem to want to know is how to categorize me which feels to me like trying to know how to value me. If they were to ask me, I would say that my value is very high. As the daughter of an African-American mother and a Dutch father, I have a unique view of the world that is different from most American teens. My father came to the U.S. from the Netherlands in 1998. From him, I get my face, humor, and stubbornness. My mother was born in Frankfurt, Germany but she was born an American because my grandfather was in the military. From her, I get my work ethic, poor eyesight, and distractedness. I know that a person can’t be defined by one label and as cliche as that sounds it’s true. Even from the descriptions of my parents, you might have an image of them, but that’s my view of them, not what others may see. My Mom’s family is pretty typically American. They’re friendly, outgoing, and love being together. As Black Americans, we’re strongly aware of the deep hurt and divisions left by slavery in this country. That’s why family connections are very important to us. My extended family has a reunion every two years. We also value our traditions like eating collard greens and sweet potato pie at Thanksgiving and Christmas which differ from those of other Americans. Having a heritage that includes explorers and the exploited, traders and survivors of slavery and genocide gives me an appreciation for the variety of human existence. The town my father grew up in is over 1200 years old. The U.S. is only 243 years old, but it has an enormous impact on the rest of the world. My Mom is descended from slaves and sharecroppers. She’s college-educated and speaks multiple languages. My Dad is an immigrant. He’s college-educated and speaks several languages. Through them, I’ve learned to appreciate different cultures and traditions. Like them, I have a strong natural curiosity about the world we live in and how we’re connected. With them, I’ve developed an understanding of others’ lives and how, even though they might be different from me, they are still good people. I love both my families, the differences, and the cultures they have taught me. What am I? I am both African-American and Dutch and proud. As a lesbian of color, I knew I wanted a job that would help people. I choose on working in television because relating to a character is powerful and helps marginalized people feel seen. This can also spread awareness that everyone does not fit into a white, nuclear family mold. This is the main reason why I would like to work in the television industry because of the lack of diverse developed characters from marginalized communities. Audience members like me shouldn’t feel alienated by a medium we love. I am a big believer in having writers who have experienced discrimination write for those characters.

Personal happiness can come from many different things and for many different reasons. One thing that really stands out for me is having a TV in my house and being able to use it. Having a TV in your house is definitely a luxury, especially with having cable, satellite, or internet-based television providers. As I grew up, little things about the TV would change. We started out with a big boxy TV, cable, and a VCR. Now, we have streaming services on our Roku and an antenna for local channels for the flat screen. I would wake up around 5 AM on weekends and couldn’t fall back asleep. I would go into my parent’s room and they would tell me to go watch tv. So, every weekend I would watch Disney channel, mostly their late 90s, and early 2000s programs. As I grew older, I was able to bond and make friends over all the tv shows and movies we’ve watched, which helped when I moved schools. I am connected to the TV so much, that I want to create my own TV shows and movies. I believe that using the TV to find role models and see people who looked like me, helped me feel confident about myself and appreciate my differences. Having any type of representation for marginalized communities in media has become a passion of mine. My happiness comes from using television as an escape and/or entertainment. But also from being an advocate of diversity and inclusion in the film and television industry.

As a lesbian of color, I knew I wanted a job that would help people. I choose on working in television because relating to a character is powerful and helps marginalized people feel seen. This can also spread awareness that everyone does not fit into a white, nuclear family mold. The is the main reason why I would like to work in the television industry because of the lack of diverse developed characters from marginalized communities. Audience members like me shouldn’t feel alienated by a medium we love. I am a big believer in having writers who have experienced discrimination write for those characters. Examples of stereotyping are when writers make non-white characters, criminals, and gang members. Not every person of color has done something illegal or is mixed up in crime, this only shows one side and continues a system of racism. Another stereotype on television shows is the over-sexualization of women and LGBTQ+ characters. For example, I made a short documentary about a forgotten part of US History. The documentary touched on Black-Owned Wall Streets and communities. I went in-depth about black wall street in downtown Durham, North Carolina as well as a black community outside of downtown. I have also made other short documentaries about marginalized communities. One was about how a black student feels about our private university’s policies and actions on racial equality. The most recent one was about how many Americans do not know much about the continent of Africa’s history as well as their involvement in both world wars. Overall, I just hope that I can use my major in cinema and television arts to help stop stereotypes and inform audiences that our differences need to be celebrated.

An animated movie that has impacted me is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. When this film came out I was a junior in High School, I started becoming more of an activist high school. When I watched the film for the first time, I cried when the line, " When I feel alone, like no one understands what I'm going through, I remember my friends who get it. I never thought I'd be able to do this stuff, but I can. Anyone can wear the mask, You can wear the mask." For some who watched the movie, It's a throwaway line about diversity. For me, It's more than that, it's a mantra, that anyone who ever felt marginalized by society, can do anything if they want. That women, non-white, and LGBTQ+ people can still do everything that straight white men can do. We can break barriers, no matter what society says.

When I think about quotes, I always go towards some of the most impactful lines in movies and on tv shows. Television shows have become my haven. I love getting lost in other worlds, filled with hope and possibility. Most problems are as simple as good versus evil. I am now reminded of a quote from my favorite show ever, “Wynnona Earp”: “Heroes Always Win”. This quote helps me every day when I sometimes want to give up fighting for human rights and justice, I remember this quote. Stories from when you are a child to any age always show the hero persevering and defeating evil and this can be true in real life as well. When people fought for civil rights and voting rights in the 1960s, they keep on fighting because they knew that if they just showed the world, that they wanted justice, they would be able to get justice. Good people will always overpower any type of evil and that’s a powerful sentiment to help fight for what’s right.

I landed on working in television because relating to a character is powerful and helps marginalized people feel seen. It can also spread awareness that everyone does not fit into a white, nuclear family mold. I see who wins awards and I feel as though awards do not representative of the world and its stories. Bong Joon-ho, the director of Parasite, the Best Foreign Picture at the 2019 Oscars, said, “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” This is something that sticks with me because I have always believed we need more diversity in films, and I would just be thinking in terms of the United States, completely forgetting about foreign films. This is the main reason why I would like to work in the television industry because of the lack of diverse developed characters from marginalized communities. Audience members like me shouldn’t feel alienated by a medium we love. As a lesbian of color, I sometimes feel guilty if I like the white characters more than the stereotypical characters of color. I am a big believer in having writers who have experienced discrimination write for those characters. The audience can always tell when something is written by someone without that experience. I just want to stop writers from continuing stereotypes because they don’t know. A few examples of stereotyping are when writers make people of color one-dimensional criminals and gang members. Not every person of color has done something illegal or was mixed up in crime, this stereotype only shows one side and continues a system of racism. Another stereotype on television shows is the over-sexualization of women and LGBTQ+ members. For example, on shows such as Superhero ones or Supernatural ones, when there is a “powerful” female character, she will be wearing some kind of tight outfit that no one would be able to fight in. This is similar to how most gay men are written on television shows, they will always be wearing the least amount of clothing and flirting openly with men. This is a completely inaccurate portrayal of LGBTQ+ people because most of them feel very uncomfortable flirting with people without being vulnerable. I want to change this amount of inclusivity not because there isn’t any, but because many of the most popular shows have little to no diversity and that’s something that needs to be changed. Shows such as“Games of Thrones” are also problematic. Why, in a made-up world, are people of color only slaves or nomads? I won’t stop until women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ characters are included every time and not just to talk about why they are different but to just be themselves. I hope that I can create a show where the main characters are all women. They will be a diverse group of women who can be people of color and LGBTQ+ without distracting from having storylines within the world. The male characters will be free from misogyny and let the female characters make their own decisions without speaking over them. The villains are not going to be people of color because they should be able to be portrayed without malice. The female characters should not be sexualized because I will never ask anyone to do anything they are not comfortable with. I hope that one day I can make this show and show how it’s easy to change stereotypes.