A life principle I have lived by since 14 years old, is to never make someone feel how you have felt unless that feeling is healing and positive. With this mindset, I would create an initiative to support young adult women of color by creating a support group called Black Girls Eat, where we heal our relationships with food through a meal and a safe space. My relationship with eating was compromised during my freshman year of high school when I discovered I had an eating disorder. I never had an issue with my body or my weight until that year, when I stopped eating to combat my depression. It sounds twisted but I was so down that I felt as it would make me feel better to abandon eating. At least I felt something when I felt hunger. The pain, the growl, the emptiness, the weakness. Maybe I would be noticed, maybe I could finally be seen. I continued my regular routine of school and intensive exercise until my world shattered at a doctor’s visit. I went to get tested for the flu, which I did not have, when it was discovered how much weight I had lost in the past few months. What I believed to be a quick turnaround ended up becoming an ongoing recovery process. I became afraid of food, afraid of eating alone, I questioned everything I thought I knew about my health. What I was most afraid of, was the stigma. This idea that black girls don’t have eating disorders and that something was wrong with me specifically. Out of all the struggles; the weight gain plans, 5 meals a day, supplements and doctors visits the hardest part was letting people in. Sharing my battles with my family and friends and letting them love me through it. One thing I have discovered about recovery is that true healing can never be done alone. Community is vital; you need like-minded individuals alongside you, holding your hand and helping you take the steps to recovery. Throughout this time, having open conversations with women in my life, I discovered how many others were dealing with the same thing but believed they were going through it alone. What started as a conversation with a friend about our love for food, we went over how sometimes it is difficult to find something you feel comfortable enough to eat, how location can be anxiety-inducing, and how it is hard to relax enough to enjoy it. We found that with patience and people you love, it is much easier to enjoy what’s in front of you and be present enough to take the steps. We talked about body dysmorphia and how acceptance is a daily practice. Black Girls Eat would not only be a recovery community but a safe space for commonalities, conversation and connection. We would share meals together, learn more about types of eating disorders and what recovery looks like for each and even raise money to get each member the specific assistance they need. I am 21 now and I am still recovering. I am still changing and growing, struggling and healing. I want to be a vessel of tangible change, while acknowledging that sometimes change is intangible. It is working within as one learns to forgive themselves, love themselves and help themselves all at once. I am so thankful not to have to do it alone and I want that for others too.

My artistic approach is “If it hasn’t been done yet, then I’m doing it.”As a creative, I relentlessly pursue knowledge. I am invested and eager to use my talents within every creative discipline. As a Black woman, I am indebted to support my community and other communities of color by creating resources. My focus is on expanding my horizons and stepping out of my comfort zone to become a multidisciplinary professional. Leading me to a career that encompasses my passions for creative direction in both fashion and music, alongside my commitment to sustainability, social impact, and community engagement. I will create a sustainable fashion brand that not only creates clothes but also conducts research and studies dedicated to finding ways to improve sustainability. I plan to establish a career in fashion and then transition to other industries such as music and film. There are so many opportunities for black women in fashion and it is still an underrepresented environment for us. What motivates me is the drive and desire to be the precedent. No one in my family studied art, or fashion, went to school out of state, or paid for their education on their own. It is a privilege to me therefore my goal is to achieve success, not for myself but to pay it all forward and give back. It is a dream of mine to create a scholarship and mentorship program for underprivileged artists and creatives whose journeys have been like my own. My main motivation is to ensure that my successors have more than enough access, resources, and information to have even greater success than they could imagine. I want to contribute to this new way of looking at life through the lens of art; through fashion, film, music, and production. Art is not just something we consume, it is who we are, it is what we see, it is what’s around us, it is what we feel, it’s what we think, it’s what we share, that’s what I want my work to express. Ultimately, my intention is, and always will be, to create opportunities and provide exposure to those who represent who I am and who I have been. I want to erase the stigmas that come with choosing creativity and make a meaningful lasting impact on the people around me. That motivates me and makes me most eager to embark on this journey.