My Mental health began to be disrupted I’d say when I was diagnosed with adhd in Elementary. I was bullied early in, I never told my mother. But entering high school really changed my life. I was dealing with various issues while in high school such as dysmorphia and then gender dysmorphia. I struggled academically and found learning to be difficult. My adhd was not the hyperactive one but the stare at the wall in wonder type. On top of this was my mental health. I was in high school during COVID. I began to lose myself. Understanding myself and who I am had been a struggle that took me to some dark places. It led me to self harm and my family discovered my pain. My mother’s discovery began at the beginning of my junior year. They did everything they could to help me. I remember sitting in my room with my mom healing me literally, bandaids and iodine to heal my wounds, I saw my mom and her love for me. Even though she cried and I cried, she sat through it all with me. I hurt myself for almost my entire high school experience. My scars are deep and visible. But my senior year we finally decided on a important life changing therapy. We got help through our Kaiser counseling services and began the process of healing by participating in a intensive 3 day a week , 2 hour Program through Kaiser called IOP for 8 weeks, that involved my parents in a group therapy setting with other kids dealing with the same exact thing. They did everything they could to help the start of my healing journey. They helped me communicate with my parents about my pain and I learned a way to channel my pain into a safer form of healing. I also saw that I was not alone and others were going thru the same thing. Since that course I have managed to stop self harm. It has not been easy but I can honestly say I do not feel the need to hurt myself any more. My senior year in 2023 I lost my grandfather who had been the biggest supporter of my art journey aside from my mother. Losing him caused me to enter a world of grief. I never knew the safe way to deal with my pain so this was a difficult time in my life. I have learned to grieve without self harm, it has been very tough. But I have managed to grieve safely. It's a rough road but I feel I have begun to overcome this adversity to achieve my goals and dreams to go into the art world. During ny senior year I began my medication for my adhd and antidepressants, and they helped me with school and my focus. I am now in my 3 years of college; I began at Humboldt for a year but felt a desperate homesickness and needed to be with my family. It could have been a result of my grief, so I finished my year and came home. I have since been at Rio Hondo College and will be transferring in the Fall at CSULA to continue my journey to be an Art Teacher. My family has been my biggest support system and I have realized that this journey on my life's path is not a solo journey but having loyal family and friends, seeking help from my counseling services, and understanding that I am not alone has been my saving grace.

I started to become interested in becoming a teacher around my senior year of high school. I became TA for my art school teacher, and I really enjoyed helping her grade and organize art projects. I enjoyed the atmosphere and I appreciated how my teacher allowed me to express myself through my art and as a person. I have been around teachers all my life considering my mom is a teacher for a Middle School. I see how her students engage with my mom as a person and how much my mother cares for their learning. I feel that relationship between a student and their teacher is so important in a young person, it teaches them to have confidence and to build trust and at the same time helps to foster their growth mentally. My teacher at California high school in Whittier.; Mrs. Caltrider was an exceptional person who really fostered my educational journey, but also help understand my mental health during a really difficult time and I am very grateful to her for allowing grace, compassion, and kindness. As a student, I dealt with a lot of adversities and difficult moments that I found calmness and peacefulness in those teachers that understood the difficulties that I was going through at the time and it really helped me to cope and to be OK in the classroom setting. So after my senior year, I realize that my open-mindedness, my own personal journey and my kindness could really help other students going through difficult challenges, I feel I would be a safe space and at the same time be able to teach some creativity in the arts. I am a Studio Art major and will be getting my credential to teach Art in high school. At Cal State Los Angeles in the fall. I am a transfer student from Humboldt university where I spent one year in 2023-2024, then I transferred back to my local community college where I will be finalizing my associates degree this summer and will be starting at Cal State Los Angeles in the fall to continue my journey to becoming a art teacher. I am excited about the possibilities of teaching at the high school level because I think I would be a good person for that job. I feel I would be a good art teacher because I believe creativity gives students a voice and helps them build confidence in expressing themselves. Art teaching isn’t only “how to draw.” It’s helping students think creatively, experiment, and develop their own style. I am very patient with people because I am aware of my own limitations so I feel I would have patience with those students that feel they cannot draw or that Art isn’t for them. My goal will be to help them discover their abilities because I think everyone has a little bit of artistic creativity, it just needs to be channeled correctly and patiently.

Watercolor painting is definitely one of my favorite mediums to use. It's definitely nothing like acrylic or chalk, pencil. It requires a lot of patience and calm when using the colors. I love the pens that are available now; they really make things easier to use. The colors are vibrant and powerful. The quick drying time is a plus and it allows you to see your creation immediately. It is relatively less expensive than acrylics, and the pigments go a long way with the watercolor pens. But there is tricks to using watercolors because, unlike acrylic, where you can paint over your mistakes, with watercolors, you need to be very careful about not making a mistake. I love the fluidity of the brush strokes and the relationship I feel with the medium. Being careful to be delicate with the stroke of the brush. Since I want to be a High School Art teacher, I know that using watercolors will be a medium I will love to use in class. Showing students that this medium is a great tool to show complex communication with colors that bring out emotions will be a good teaching skill. There are so many important mediums that one needs to teach, but I think using watercolors will be important to incorporate. The samples I am providing are art pieces I created when I was in high school. I was struggling with identity issues, and painting really helped me cope with my changing emotions. You can tell by the drawings that I was dealing with identity issues and was still trying to figure it all out. It was such an escape for me. I collected various sketchbooks that were filled with doodles and images like these below.

My mental health journey is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel hopeless. However, seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. I am a proud non binary human and the lgbtq community has been such a strong support in my life . As I got older, I never thought I would have to deal with mental health issues. Growing up in a social media world affected me and my view of myself. It brought about a lot of self-hatred and brought my world down. There was some help in my life, but I didn't think of it as my therapy. This was art. I found peace in drawing and animation, but never thought that it would help me. However it has become my main source of therapy. I needed this therapy because I was dealing with various issues while in high school such as dysmorphia and then gender dysmorphia. Understanding myself and who I am has been a struggle that took me to some dark places. It led me to self harm and as a consequence my family discovered my pain. They did everything they could to help me. I participated in a Program through Kaiser called IOP and they did everything they could to help the start of my healing journey. They helped me communicate with my parents about my pain and I learned a way to channel my pain into a safer form of healing. Since that course I have managed to stop self harm. I suffered later that year in the loss of my grandfather who had been the biggest supporter of my art journey aside from my mother. It's a rough road but I feel I have begun to overcome this adversity to achieve my goals and dreams to go into the art world. My family has been my biggest support system and I have realized that this journey on my life's path is not a solo journey but having loyal family and friends and understanding that I am not alone has been my saving grace. My family has been thru many challenges economically, my dad was physically hurt on the job 4 years ago and just fully recovered 1 year ago , he went back to work after 2 years of disability; he was crushed by a truck and survived it. He found another job but it shut down due to the current economics of the country. So he was on unemployment for a few months, but now is working again. During this time my mom has had the bare the burden of all economic issues regarding my education, my family’s finances, and our general wellbeing. Things haven’t been easy so any economic help would be appreciated. I commute to school right now and my car isn’t the best and we have had to get little things fixed and all that cost money. I don’t know how my mom does it but she always manages to provide what we need. I don’t qualify for financial aid other than the parent loan because my mom is a teacher and we don’t qualify for assistance. Yet she helps us figure it all out.

I participated in a IOP program via my Kaiser insurance. I needed this therapy because I was dealing with various issues while in high school such as dysmorphia and then gender dysmorphia. Understanding myself and who I am has been a struggle that took me to some dark places. It led me to self harm and as a consequence my family discovered my pain. They did everything they could to help me. The Program through Kaiser called IOP helped me with the start of my healing journey. They helped me communicate with my parents about my pain and I learned a way to channel my pain into a safer form of healing. They used art therapy to help my communication. Since that course I have managed to stop self harm. I suffered later that year in the loss of my grandfather who had been the biggest supporter of my art journey aside from my mother. Losing him causes me to enter a world of grief. I never knew the safe way to deal with my pain so this was a difficult time in my life. I have learned to grieve without self harm and it has been very tough. But I have managed to grieve safely. It's a rough road but I feel I have begun to overcome this adversity to achieve my goals and dreams to go into the art world. My family has been my biggest support system and I have realized that this journey on my life's path is not a solo journey but having loyal family and friends and understanding that I am not alone has been my saving grace. It has been 4 years since I stopped self harming and I can honestly say art therapy and seeking help has helped me overcome this trauma. So I know that the program works being part of it and healing thru it. I am an art major with the hopes of teaching art in high school but I am open to possibility of becoming an art therapist. I’m still on my journey so my path can change. I start cal state Los Angeles in the fall after attending a year at cal poly Humboldt and doing 2 years at Rio Hondo college. I know art helped heal me, and continues to heal me and I want to help students that may be struggling to use art as a source for mental health.

I spent one year in Cal Poly Humboldt and every second I spent out in the redwoods was an absolute beautiful day. I believe a lot of my art reflected the outside world. I didn’t finish my years there but came back home to Whittier ,California but I brought Humboldt home with me. As I continued my education at Rio Hondo College I continued my art education and found myself doing all my art outside in my yard .. I found being outside healing and so helpful with creating all my pieces. In Fall I will be attending Cal state Los Angeles and Really love the urban environment, it’s not the redwoods by far by the street art and the people really help me feel at home. I’m excited to continue my art journey and become an art teacher so I can also help bring the same visions from my students and use the world to help them create beautiful images from their outside world. One of the pieces was a collage I created at Humboldt and really love . The other pieces art landscapes that I painted from my memory and photos from my own personal experiences .

I have always been an artistic kid. Since I can remember it’s been something I have always loved, I have always loved to draw and paint. I have found my best moments and my worst moments when I am painting or drawing. It has always healed me. To this day it helps me see who I am. My first moments in finding my love for art was on my patio with an easel my aunt gifted me, I must have been 8 years old. It was my first true moment where I felt at ease and in my element. Art is something I think everyone should revel in. Art is my place to be mindful of myself, my thoughts and emotions. I have found solace and peace when I paint and draw. Although I can be very critical of myself and this can cause me stress; it is still my most zen-ful moment. Playing music to help this creative side of me is crucial to my creativity. Over the years I have changed in many ways and my art has changed. It is difficult to explain. However when I look back at my art, I see the growth and all the changes I have taken in my life personally, mentally, and emotionally. As I got older I found inspiration in artists like Georgia O’keefe and Van Gogh. O'keefe went blind at a very young age and was still able to see what she was painting, she also was a woman who went against the male dominated world of art. This in itself gives me courage to continue my passion. That is just an amazing feat. I have been drawn to artists who have endured so much pain. Van Gogh is another one of my favorites but mostly due to the multiple mediums and styles he used in his work. It wasn’tjust art books that inspired me, but my mom has paid a type of homage to Frida Kahlo, and her art is everywhere in our home, it was no doubt that one of my sisters or myself would've had an artistic eye. My mom has always talked to me about Frida’s life and the unbearable physical pain she had due to her accident. It’s inspiring. It’s sad at the same time. People who suffer can create such beautiful things. I connected. The changes that I see in my paintings definitely help me to get my thoughts out on paper. I have decided I want to be a teacher of art. I struggled in high school emotionally and found solace in my art class. I realized that I could be that comfort to a kid like me. I am utterly excited at the thought that I will be focusing my future career in art education. I want to teach students different types of art like studio art, digital art, painting, or even sculpture. I want to help a student that may be struggling in emotional things to find inspiration in the class that I may be teaching. Maybe I can inspire someone like my aunt did for me, she was an Art Major at UCI and is now a High School Teacher of Art, she began to inspire me when i saw her art installations; so unique and inspiring. So I have had a lot of influence that has led me to this point in my educational choices. I believe I deserve this scholarship because, as a student from a middle-class family, paying for college and the expenses that come with being an art student can be challenging. From art supplies to studio fees, the costs quickly add up. Receiving financial assistance would allow me to focus more on developing my skills and achieving my academic and creative goals. As a commuter as well any thing helps.. with the economy the way it is gas is so expensive and makes it difficult for paying for gas. I would be ever so grateful for this help .

I have always been an artistic kid. Since I can remember it’s been something I have always loved, I have always loved to draw and paint. I have found my best moments and my worst moments when I am painting or drawing. It has always healed me. To this day it helps me see who I am. My first moments in finding my love for art was on my patio with an easel my aunt gifted me, I must have been 8 years old. It was my first true moment where I felt at ease and in my element. Art is something I think everyone should revel in. Art is my place to be mindful of myself, my thoughts and emotions. I have found solace and peace when I paint and draw. Although I can be very critical of myself and this can cause me stress; it is still my most zen-ful moment. Playing music to help this creative side of me is crucial to my creativity. Over the years I have changed in many ways and my art has changed. It is difficult to explain. However when I look back at my art, I see the growth and all the changes I have taken in my life personally, mentally, and emotionally. As I got older I found inspiration in artists like Georgia O’keefe and Van Gogh. O'keefe went blind at a very young age and was still able to see what she was painting, she also was a woman who went against the male dominated world of art. This in itself gives me courage to continue my passion. That is just an amazing feat. I have been drawn to artists who have endured so much pain. Van Gogh is another one of my favorites but mostly due to the multiple mediums and styles he used in his work. It wasn’tjust art books that inspired me, but my mom has paid a type of homage to Frida Kahlo, and her art is everywhere in our home, it was no doubt that one of my sisters or myself would've had an artistic eye. My mom has always talked to me about Frida’s life and the unbearable physical pain she had due to her accident. It’s inspiring. It’s sad at the same time. People who suffer can create such beautiful things. I connected. The changes that I see in my paintings definitely help me to get my thoughts out on paper. I have decided I want to be a teacher of art. I struggled in high school emotionally and found solace in my art class. I realized that I could be that comfort to a kid like me. I am utterly excited at the thought that I will be focusing my future career in art education. I want to teach students different types of art like studio art, digital art, painting, or even sculpture. I want to help a student that may be struggling in emotional things to find inspiration in the class that I may be teaching. Maybe I can inspire someone like my aunt did for me, she was an Art Major at UCI and is now a High School Teacher of Art, she began to inspire me when i saw her art installations; so unique and inspiring. So I have had a lot of influence that has led me to this point in my educational choices.

I have gone through mental health issues and I know how it feels to be stuck. With my familys help I got through it. It was hard but worth fighting. I’ve been an advocate for people with mental illnesses around me because I do not want others to feel alone. Currently I am studying to be a teacher, And being a teacher comes with helping students and being there for them when things get tough. I want to be a mentor so I can guide them to their paths for their future. No one should be alone, checking up on your friends or family doesn’t hurt. I want to strive to be a voice for the voiceless.

Adversity My mental health journey My adversity is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel hopeless. However, seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. As I got older, I never thought I would have to deal with mental health issues. Growing up in a social media world affected me and my view of myself. It brought about a lot of self-hatred and brought my world down. There was some help in my life, but I didn't think of it as my therapy. This was art. I found peace in drawing and animation, but never thought that it would help me. However it has become my main source of therapy. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. I needed this therapy because I was dealing with various issues while in high school such as dysmorphia and then gender dysmorphia. Understanding myself and who I am has been a struggle that took me to some dark places. It led me to self harm and as a consequence my family discovered my pain. They did everything they could to help me. I participated in a Program through Kaiser called IOP and they did everything they could to help the start of my healing journey. They helped me communicate with my parents about my pain and I learned a way to channel my pain into a safer form of healing. Since that course I have managed to stop self harm. I suffered later that year in the loss of my grandfather who had been the biggest supporter of my art journey aside from my mother. Losing him causes me to enter a world of grief. I never knew the safe way to deal with my pain so this was a difficult time in my life. I have learned to grieve without self harm and it has been very tough. But I have managed to grieve safely. It's a rough road but I feel I have begun to overcome this adversity to achieve my goals and dreams to go into the art world. My family has been my biggest support system and I have realized that this journey on my life's path is not a solo journey but having loyal family and friends and understanding that I am not alone has been my saving grace. Two years into my college journey and I feel happy. My scars shape me but don’t define me anymore. I am doing everything to be healthy, running, exercising, being a better friend, and sister and daughter. I feel hopeful in my life for the first time in a very long time. I feel like I have a path.

Adversity My mental health journey My adversity is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel hopeless. However, seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. As I got older, I never thought I would have to deal with mental health issues. Growing up in a social media world affected me and my view of myself. It brought about a lot of self-hatred and brought my world down. There was some help in my life, but I didn't think of it as my therapy. This was art. I found peace in drawing and animation, but never thought that it would help me. However it has become my main source of therapy. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. I needed this therapy because I was dealing with various issues while in high school such as dysmorphia and then gender dysmorphia. Understanding myself and who I am has been a struggle that took me to some dark places. It led me to self harm and as a consequence my family discovered my pain. They did everything they could to help me. I participated in a Program through Kaiser called IOP and they did everything they could to help the start of my healing journey. They helped me communicate with my parents about my pain and I learned a way to channel my pain into a safer form of healing. Since that course I have managed to stop self harm. I suffered later that year in the loss of my grandfather who had been the biggest supporter of my art journey aside from my mother. Losing him causes me to enter a world of grief. I never knew the safe way to deal with my pain so this was a difficult time in my life. I have learned to grieve without self harm and it has been very tough. But I have managed to grieve safely. It's a rough road but I feel I have begun to overcome this adversity to achieve my goals and dreams to go into the art world. My family has been my biggest support system and I have realized that this journey on my life's path is not a solo journey but having loyal family and friends and understanding that I am not alone has been my saving grace. I plan on getting my teaching credential in the field of art. I want to be an Art teacher in high school. I found hope in my art class I want to give my students the outlet to have the same hope and using art to help students find their voice.

To explain how much I love it is an understatement. I have always loved to draw and paint. I have found my best moments and my worst moments when I am painting or drawing. It heals me and helps me see who I am and can be. Going on my patio and painting is my stress releaser. My first moments in finding my love for art was on my patio with an easel my aunt gifted me (picture at the end), I must have been 8 years old. My mom took a picture of me in my cute pink outfit and I was painting some obscure image with flowers. It was my first true moment where I felt at ease and in my element. Although I can be very critical of myself and this can cause me stress; it is still my most zen-ful moment. Over the years I have changed in many ways and my art has changed. It is difficult to explain. However when I look back at my art, I see the growth and all the changes I have taken in my life personally, mentally, and emotionally. My art inspirations are Georgia O’keefe and Van gogh. O'keefe went blind at a very young age and was still able to see what she was painting, she also was a woman who went against the male dominated world of art. This in itself gives me courage to continue my passion. I have been drawn to artists who have endured so much pain. Van Gogh is another one of my favorites but mostly due to the multiple mediums and styles he used in his work. My mom has paid a type of homage to Frida Kahlo art everywhere in our home, it was no doubt that one of my sisters or myself would've had an artistic eye. My mom has always talked to me about Frida’s life and the unbearable physical pain she had due to her accident. It’s inspiring. It’s sad at the same time. People who suffer can create such beautiful things. I connect. The changes that I see in my paintings definitely help me to get my thoughts out on paper. As I look at the art that I have submitted for this admission, I realize that some of my art contains my personal struggles. I progressed into a new person with every art that I create. Taking several classes at Humboldt and Rio Hondo has shown me different techniques that I am now applying in my art; like pointillism, printmaking , ceramics, and painting. Pointillism is fascinating. It is difficult, you have to have a lot of patience since it requires so many dots; thousands actually to complete a project. However when you look at the finished piece, you are like “wow” I did that. It's satisfying. I am utterly excited at the thought that I will be focusing on my future career in art. Whether it is studio art, digital art, painting, or even sculpture or possibly art education. Learning from the best will help me explore the best of myself. My aunt was an Art Major at UCI and is now a High School Teacher of Art. My mom graduated in 1995 from UCI as a Biological Sciences Major; she is also a teacher of Science in middle school. They have always loved their experience at UCI. My mom's picnics in Aldrich Park, my aunt’s interesting installations; so unique and inspiring, and their little adventures that they always share with me. I would love to contribute to their stories.

Art is so profound. To explain how much I love it is an understatement. I have always loved to draw and paint. I have found my best moments and my worst moments when I am painting or drawing. It heals me and helps me see who I am and can be. Going on my patio and painting is my stress releaser. My first moments in finding my love for art was on my patio with an easel my aunt gifted me (picture at the end), I must have been 8 years old. My mom took a picture of me in my cute pink outfit and I was painting some obscure image with flowers. It was my first true moment where I felt at ease and in my element. Art is something I think everyone should revel in. Art is my place to be mindful of myself, my thoughts and emotions. I have found solace and peace when I paint and draw. Although I can be very critical of myself and this can cause me stress; it is still my most zen-ful moment. Playing music to help this creative side of me is crucial to my creativity. Over the years I have changed in many ways and my art has changed. It is difficult to explain. However when I look back at my art, I see the growth and all the changes I have taken in my life personally, mentally, and emotionally. My art inspirations are Georgia O’keefe and Van gogh. O'keefe went blind at a very young age and was still able to see what she was painting, she also was a woman who went against the male dominated world of art. This in itself gives me courage to continue my passion. That is just an amazing feat. I have been drawn to artists who have endured so much pain. Van Gogh is another one of my favorites but mostly due to the multiple mediums and styles he used in his work. With the fact that my mom has paid a type of homage to Frida Kahlo art everywhere in our home, it was no doubt that one of my sisters or myself would've had an artistic eye. My mom has always talked to me about Frida’s life and the unbearable physical pain she had due to her accident. It’s inspiring. It’s sad at the same time. People who suffer can create such beautiful things. I connect. The changes that I see in my paintings definitely help me to get my thoughts out on paper. As I look at the art that I have submitted for this admission, I realize that some of my art contains my personal struggles. It saddens me but I realized how important it is to see the changes that have taken place, it means I have survived that moment. I progressed into a new person with every art that I create. Taking Art 2 in high school has shown me different techniques that I am now applying in my art; like pointillism. This type of art is fascinating. It is difficult, you have to have a lot of patience since it requires so many dots; thousands actually to complete a project. However when you look at the finished piece, you are like “wow” I did that. It's satisfying.

Social Issues are really important. Awareness is even more important. Being a young person in this changing world has definitely brought about many difficult thoughts and crucial social outlook. I have learned to not be afraid to voice my opinion on social media about things I feel I am right about. The Palestinian War in my opinion is completely awful and is a genocide on the people. I don't agree with it and I am not afraid to voice my social opinion. I am a supporter of LGPTQ-Trans rights and believe all people deserve a platform and shouldn't be silenced. I an vocal amongst my friends and luckily my circle of friends have the same opinion. So we have great conversations about social injustices. I believe our generation needs to be vocal about all these social issues since they will impact us now and definitely in the future. They will impact our children's children. I see how ROE v. Wade affected my grandmothers generation and the impact it had on my mothers generation (GEN X) only to have it reversed in our generation. The impact it had mentally on my mothers generation was sadly impactful. She was upset beyond belief and at first I didn't understand that. Now that I am getting older and understand how so many social injustice affect our people it is sad that these changes are affecting so many people unfairly. I have a social media platform and I am in constantly vocalizing my opinions and will continue to do so. There is nothing wrong showing people good sites that they can use to inform themselves about social issues. Most people are ill informed and its easier to put the right information out there for people to take the time to see and hear. I think in this day and age, social media is the right tool to get this information out. We don't read like in my mothers generation. People rely on the media to give the right information but sometimes this information that is out isn't always right. Its based on very popular views and not necessarily the right ones. So finding the correct sources with legit information is strikingly important. So I have vowed to voice my opinion even if it may upset family and friends. Life is short. Might as well help to leave the world a better place for each generation that passes.

The arts have been present in my life since I was a child. My mother surrounded my home walls with many Frida Kahlo Art, Diego Rivera Art, Simon Silva art and various cultural artifacts. So being surrounded by art gave me the opportunity to to respect it and to realize that it plays an important role in my life. Art isn’t just about creating a beautiful space. It’s to create thoughts about why the artist painted an image. It’s the use of colors and questioning why those colors. As I got older I realized that drawing and animation would then be my favorite thing to draw. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. My adversity is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel like there is no hope. However seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. . Throughout my life I have had various influences that impacted my decision to pursue a career in art. It seems pretty obvious that it began early in my life that it was meant for me. Waking up to Frida Kahlo was a pretty intense experience, yet very normal. I have always been a creative person and continue to be just that. I love bringing color and design to my life. It brings out the beauty of everything around me. Now that I am in College at Cal Poly Humboldt, my environment has played a huge factor in my desire to continue to study arts. Being surrounded by so much beauty has really made me realize that there is so much beauty in this world. I can see how Georgia O’Keefe painted her world with so much love. She is another of my favorite artists and the detail she brings about the simplest things, like a flower, or a big piece like a landscape is inspiring. I want to learn new ways of creating art, not just painting, I want to learn different modalities of art. Currently I am taking a Course which will teach me how to make stamps. Learning to use different types of tools that do not include just a brush or a pencil is exciting. I want to pursue different types of art and I am hoping to achieve this at Humboldt.

The arts have been present in my life since I was a child. My mother surrounded my home walls with many Frida Kahlo Art, Diego Rivera Art, Simon SIlva art and various cultural artifacts. So being surrounded by art gave me the opportunity to to respect it and to realize that it plays an important role in my life. Art isn’t just about creating a beautiful space. It’s to create thoughts about why the artist painted an image. It’s the use of colors and questioning why those colors. As I got older I realized that drawing and animation would then be my favorite thing to draw. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. My adversity is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel like there is no hope. However seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. Throughout my life I have had various influences that impacted my decision to pursue a career in art. It seems pretty obvious that it began early in my life that it was meant for me. Waking up to Frida Kahlo was a pretty intense experience, yet very normal. I have always been a creative person and continue to be just that. I love bringing color and design to my life. It brings out the beauty of everything around me. Now that I am in College at Cal Poly Humboldt, my environment has played a huge factor in my desire to continue to study arts. Being surrounded by so much beauty has really made me realize that there is so much beauty in this world. I can see how Georgia O’Keefe painted her world with so much love. She is another of my favorite artists and the detail she brings about the simplest things, like a flower, or a big piece like a landscape is inspiring. I want to learn new ways of creating art, not just painting, I want to learn different modalities of art. Currently I am taking a Course which will teach me how to make stamps. Learning to use different types of tools that do not include just a brush or a pencil is exciting. I want to pursue different types of art and I am hoping to achieve this at Humboldt. As I have taken the first two art classes, I have come to realize that having a little bit of spending money on my supplies is apparent. My mom is currently the only one working, she’s a teacher. My dad was in a terrible work accident and is still on permanent disability. Asking my mom for money is difficult but she always finds a way to give me what I need. I would really appreciate any help I could get.

My adversity is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel like there is no hope. However seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. As I got older I never thought I would have to deal with mental health issues. Growing up in a social media world really affected me and my view of myself. It brought about a lot of self hatred and brought my world down. There was some help in my life but I didn't think of it as my therapy. This was art. I found peace in drawing and animation , but never thought that it would help me. However it has become my main source of therapy. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. I needed this therapy because I was dealing with various issues while in high school such as dysmorphia and then gender dysmorphia. Understanding myself and who I am has been a struggle that took me to some dark places. It led me to self harm and as a consequence my family discovered my pain. They did everything they could to help me. I participated in a Program through Kaiser called IOP and they did everything they could to help the start of my healing journey. They helped me communicate with my parents about my pain and I learned a way to channel my pain into a safer form of healing. Since that course I have managed to stop self harm. I suffered later that year in the loss of my grandfather who had been the biggest supporter of my art journey aside from my mother. Losing him causes me to enter a world of grief. I never knew the safe way to deal with my pain so this was a difficult time in my life. I have learned to grieve without self harm and it has been very tough. But I have managed to grieve safely. It's a rough road but I feel I have begun to overcome this adversity to achieve my goals and dreams to go into the art world. My family has been my biggest support system and I have realized that this journey on my life's path is not a solo journey but having loyal family and friends and understanding that I am not alone has been my saving grace. Everyday I am healing and realizing that I am a good person and I only owe myself my love and strength. The world has opened it's heart to me at Cal Poly Humboldt and it has surrounded with people that are on similar mental health journeys and it really provides me with a sense of comfort and a realization that I am not alone or different for that matter.

I attribute my personal success to my personal adversity. This continued success is because of it. My adversity is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel like there is no hope. However seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. As I got older I never thought I would have to deal with mental health issues. Growing up in a social media world really affected me and my view of myself. It brought about a lot of self hatred and brought my world down. There was some help in my life but I didn't think of it as my therapy. This was art. I found peace in drawing and animation , but never thought that it would help me. However it has become my main source of therapy. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. I needed this therapy because I was dealing with various issues while in high school such as dysmorphia and then gender dysmorphia. Understanding myself and who I am has been a struggle that took me to some dark places. It led me to self harm and as a consequence my family discovered my pain. They did everything they could to help me. I participated in a Program through Kaiser called IOP and they did everything they could to help the start of my healing journey. They helped me communicate with my parents about my pain and I learned a way to channel my pain into a safer form of healing. Since that course I have managed to stop self harm. I suffered later that year in the loss of my grandfather who had been the biggest supporter of my art journey aside from my mother. Losing him causes me to enter a world of grief. I never knew the safe way to deal with my pain so this was a difficult time in my life. I have learned to grieve without self harm and it has been very tough. But I have managed to grieve safely. It's a rough road but I feel I have begun to overcome this adversity to achieve my goals and dreams to go into the art world. My family has been my biggest support system and I have realized that this journey on my life's path is not a solo journey but having loyal family and friends and understanding that I am not alone has been my saving grace. I feel that success comes in many forms. However at this point in my life success to me is have good mental health so I can complete my academic journey in studio art.

The arts have been present in my life since I was a child. My mother surrounded my home walls with many Frida Kahlo Art, Diego Rivera Art, Simon SIlva art and various cultural artifacts. So being surrounded by art gave me the opportunity to to respect it and to realize that it plays an important role in my life. Art isn’t just about creating a beautiful space. It’s to create thoughts about why the artist painted an image. It’s the use of colors and questioning why those colors. As I got older I realized that drawing and animation would then be my favorite thing to draw. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. My adversity is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel like there is no hope. However seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. When I entered high school I never thought I would have to deal with mental health issues. Growing up in a social media world really affected me and my view of myself. It brought about a lot of self hatred and brought my world down. There was some help in my life but I didn't think of it as my therapy. This was art. I found peace in drawing and animation, but never thought that it would help me. Today it has become my main source of therapy in my life. Theater was a new artistic field I began to try. Specially the art set design because what I was best at. I learned that theater isn't just acting but creating a set background can really influence the feeling of a musical or production. This became a new influence in my life. I have come to realize that art delves into many different forms. Throughout my life I have had various influences that impacted my decision to pursue a career in art. It seems pretty obvious that it began early in my life that it was meant for me. Waking up to Frida Kahlo was a pretty intense experience, yet very normal. I have always been a creative person and continue to be just that. I love bringing color and design to my life. It brings out the beauty of everything around me. I have also come to learn that art isn't just painting, but to create a set design for a theater production is an amazing and fun way of using art. It is definitely a possible future in art but in movies or theater production.

The arts have been present in my life since I was a child. My mother surrounded my home walls with many Frida Kahlo Art, Diego Rivera Art, Simon Silva art and various cultural artifacts. So being surrounded by art gave me the opportunity to to respect it and to realize that it plays an important role in my life. Art isn’t just about creating a beautiful space. It’s to create thoughts about why the artist painted an image. It’s the use of colors and questioning why those colors. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. I feel art is simply beautiful and without it is just unimageable. So I feel more artist in the world will make the world a much better place. Sounds super naïve but I honestly believe this with all my being. We have too many displeasing things in the world. Art has always been my saving grace so why can't it be the worlds. Art can create not just a beautiful but can create a thought provoking image which can lend to so many ideas. It is everywhere. In the games we play online, in our textbooks, and in the doodles we create on our scrapbooks. The artist Banksy does this in a very unique way. He makes people come out of into the world and analyze his art. He makes people think. It's a great way to bring art to the world. He is a definite unique artist that I admire. Yet he is still unknown to the world. So fascinating. It's this type of art that makes the world turn heads. I am still developing my art and don't quite know where it will take me but I do feel it is in my future. There is so much influence within the art field. So much can be done. But I do know I will make art and I will make people think about my creations one day. This excites me and gives me hope in my life and my future goals.

The arts have been present in my life since I was a child. My mother surrounded my home walls with many Frida Kahlo Art, Diego Rivera Art, Simon SIlva art and various cultural artifacts. So being surrounded by art gave me the opportunity to to respect it and to realize that it plays an important role in my life. Art isn’t just about creating a beautiful space. It’s to create thoughts about why the artist painted an image. It’s the use of colors and questioning why those colors. My Aunt, who is an art teacher at a private high school, gave me my first easel. So I definitely used it to paint what I saw. I spent a lot of time outside my patio painting my pets, my yard, birds, and various bugs I would see. My family did a big part in channeling what creative aspect my siblings had in our lives. So I have received lots of art gifts since I was child. Paint sets, and canvas was a typical gift I would receive since I was very young. So this influence was a big precursor to my future education in the Arts. As I got older I realized that drawing and animation would then be my favorite thing to draw. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. I have had various influences that impacted my decision to pursue a career in art. It seems pretty obvious that it began early in my life that it was meant for me. Waking up to Frida Kahlo was a pretty intense experience, yet very normal. I have always been a creative person and continue to be just that. I love bringing color and design to my life. It brings out the beauty of everything around me. Now that I am in College at Cal Poly Humboldt, my environment has played a huge factor in my desire to continue to study arts. Being surrounded by so much beauty has really made me realize that there is so much beauty in this world. I can see how Georgia O’Keefe painted her world with so much love. She is another of my favorite artists and the detail she brings about the simplest things, like a flower, or a big piece like a landscape is inspiring. I want to learn new ways of creating art, not just painting, i want to learn different modalities of art. Currently I am taking a Course which will teach me how to make stamps. Learning to use different types of tools that do not include just a brush or a pencil is exciting. I want to pursue different types of art and I am hoping to achieve this at Humboldt. This scholarship could help me with some of my supplies that are expensive and would give my family a little financial support. Depending on financial aid primarily loans I know will haunt me later but this little help right now could give me a little bit of freedom from the loans.

My adversity is a personal journey of healing. Life has taught me that you can sink into a dark hole and feel like there is no hope. However seeing a spark of light of love can heal the saddest and darkest fears. This light was my family. As I got older I never thought I would have to deal with mental health issues. Growing up in a social media world really affected me and my view of myself. It brought about a lot of self hatred and brought my world down. There was some help in my life but I didn't think of it as my therapy. This was art. I found peace in drawing and animation , but never thought that it would help me. However it has become my main source of therapy. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. I needed this therapy because I was dealing with various issues while in high school such as dysmorphia and then gender dysmorphia. Understanding myself and who I am has been a struggle that took me to some dark places. It led me to self harm and as a consequence my family discovered my pain. They did everything they could to help me. I participated in a Program through Kaiser called IOP and they did everything they could to help the start of my healing journey. They helped me communicate with my parents about my pain and I learned a way to channel my pain into a safer form of healing. Since that course I have managed to stop self harm. I suffered later that year in the loss of my grandfather who had been the biggest supporter of my art journey aside from my mother. Losing him causes me to enter a world of grief. I never knew the safe way to deal with my pain so this was a difficult time in my life. I have learned to grieve without self harm and it has been very tough. But I have managed to grieve safely. It's a rough road but I feel I have begun to overcome this adversity to achieve my goals and dreams to go into the art world. My family has been my biggest support system and I have realized that this journey on my life's path is not a solo journey but having loyal family and friends and understanding that I am not alone has been my saving grace.

The arts have been present in my life since I was a child. My mother surrounded my home walls with many Frida Kahlo Art, Diego Rivera Art, Simon SIlva art and various cultural artifacts. So being surrounded by art gave me the opportunity to to respect it and to realize that it plays an important role in my life. Art isn’t just about creating a beautiful space. It’s to create thoughts about why the artist painted an image. It’s the use of colors and questioning why those colors. My Aunt, who is an art teacher at a private high school, gave me my first easel. So I definitely used it to paint what I saw. I spent a lot of time outside my patio painting my pets, my yard, birds, and various bugs I would see. My family did a big part in channeling what creative aspect my siblings had in our lives. So I have received lots of art gifts since I was child. Paint sets, and canvas was a typical gift I would receive since I was very young. So this influence was a big precursor to my future education in the Arts. As I got older I realized that drawing and animation would then be my favorite thing to draw. I began to create my own style of cartoon and create various little characters. I did use my characters to show whatever emotions I was feeling during my various years in high school, which was honestly a lot of difficult emotions to deal with. It was a way to cope and express myself. I found it healing and I have continued to draw my characters in college. I find it therapeutic. I have had various influences that impacted my decision to pursue a career in art. It seems pretty obvious that it began early in my life that it was meant for me. Waking up to Frida Kahlo was a pretty intense experience, yet very normal. I have always been a creative person and continue to be just that. I love bringing color and design to my life. It brings out the beauty of everything around me. Now that I am in College at Cal Poly Humboldt, my environment has played a huge factor in my desire to continue to study arts. Being surrounded by so much beauty has really made me realize that there is so much beauty in this world. I can see how Georgia O’Keefe painted her world with so much love. She is another of my favorite artists and the detail she brings about the simplest things, like a flower, or a big piece like a landscape is inspiring. I want to learn new ways of creating art, not just painting, i want to learn different modalities of art. Currently I am taking a Course which will teach me how to make stamps. Learning to use different types of tools that do not include just a brush or a pencil is exciting. I want to pursue different types of art and I am hoping to achieve this at Humboldt.

I decided to attend Cal Poly Humboldt for the the beautiful campus. The redwoods and the forest really call to me and my soul. Literally every day that I step out of my dorm room it is a beautiful sight. Walking out is like a Georgia O'Keefe painting in 5D. I can get lost for hours looking at the beautiful sights that surround me. I love to see the various colors that are created during the golden hour. Sunsets are my favorite. Looking at hour the redwoods slowly let in light through the gaps of the trees and branches create a image that is breathtaking. So basically I see beauty all around me. Animals are another sight that creates beautiful colors and wonderment. I especially like to look closely at bugs like preying mantis or simple little creatures that have so much beauty. They share the world I walk on, so I appreciate them. I feel everything has beauty and definitely is a source of inspiration for me as an artist. I use what's around me to create my art. However sometimes I see the beauty in my mind and use the colors that I have experienced in my drawings.