My passion for art is driven by myself but boosted by my peers and environment. I am very lucky to have many supportive people around me that have been here for me and encouraged me from day one. My dad is one of those who introduced me to art and was my first teacher in the arts. Although he did not teach me many technical practices he taught me to express myself with my art and drove me to embrace my style. My dad also introduced me to many art forms growing up, we watched many Disney animated movies and cartoons when I was younger and when I started getting older he took me to art museums and galleries. I was introduced to many forms of art growing up and one of the most influential to me was the Nickelodeon show "Avatar the Last Airbender" which was one of my main influences to become an animator. When I first watched the show I was probably six years old and like every other child, I loved it because it looked cool. In more recent years I have been rewatching the show every year because every time I see it I discover something new. about how beautifully animated and written it is. I have always known I wanted to pursue art as a career but I never knew what exactly I wanted to do. While rewatching "Avatar the Last Airbender" about four years ago I realized that I wanted to be a part of a production like this, I wanted to translate someone's story visually, I wanted to create characters and animated sequences that impact people years after its debut. I wanted to animate, so I began to drive myself in that direction, I looked at more than animated shows but the creators behind them and the studios that made them possible. Ultimately I am driven by my want to give back to the world that raised me to be who I am today. I will keep pushing myself to be the best I can be and I will continue to grow and learn from all of the creativity surrounding me. I will be driven by my curiosity to learn and create. With this scholarship, I would be able to subtract from the cost of my tuition. I will push myself to get through college so I can get a good education and introduce myself to the working world with as much experience and confidence that I will be able to make it in my craft. Scholarships are important to me because a good education comes at a cost and it is much easier to focus on my education when I can obtain as many scholarships as I can. I am no stranger to financial insecurity but finding art scholarships like this one is also beneficial to me because I love the opportunity to share my art with others.