On April 25th, 1998, I was born on the small island of St. Croix, USVI. My parents immigrated from Antigua and St.Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, fell in love, and had my older brother and me. Art has been on my mind for as long as I can remember. Before I could participate in any formal art education, I drew what I could imagine. My head was forever in the clouds. The scribbles I created and that my parent's oh so loved were my crowning achievements in my early years. My love of art increased evermore once I started school. My parents were my first inspiration, pushing me to continue pursuing my craft. Because of their harsh upbringings, instead of telling me to quit art and pursue other careers, they cheered me on. My father especially inspired me; he was creative in a unique way. A master of all trades, my father was skilled with his hands, and my mother often said I inherited my skills from my father. He could build anything and fix anything, whether it be cars, homes, furniture, you name it. Though he was a man of few words, he was proud of what I drew and always looked forward to what I would draw next. My father was so incredibly pleased to send me to college to pursue my degree in Graphic Design. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in Fall of 2017 as my family and I planned to reunite. Hurricane Irma appeared around the time of plans for my father to travel to the USA for the first time in many years. I remember the day clearly. I said, "It's going to be a good today." As I left my room, my friends and administration cornered me as I received an ominous phone call from my mom. That morning Irma hit, and my father had a heart attack. And due to the fallen trees and telephone poles, my mother and brother couldn't get him out of the neighborhood to the hospital, and he died. One of my biggest regrets was not sharing more of my projects with him and talking on the phone. Buried in my schoolwork, I thought I had time to call or visit when the semester ended. I was gravely mistaken. Though my father passed away, he taught me to love art and the act of creating. I'm choosing to pursue an education in the arts to make my dreams come true. I have this strong, innate desire to communicate to the world and the world to communicate back to me. Also, pursuing an education in the arts is a way to explore the unknown and worlds beyond our imagination. Frequently, as a child, I had difficulty expressing myself to others. Slowly, through art, I have been finding my voice and sharing my creativity online. I've drawn for as long as I can remember. Mermaids were at the top of my list if I wasn't drawing anime-inspired art. Finally, "A lesson without pain is meaningless. That's because no one can gain without sacrificing something. But by enduring that pain and overcoming it, he shall obtain a powerful, unmatched heart. A fullmetal heart." One of my favorite quotes from the anime is Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. This statement mirrors my journey through life and my experiences with pursuing art. I have given up, started over, given up again, and restarted this process more times than I can count. One day, by sharing my creative works, I inspire someone to pick up a pencil or Ipad and tell their unique story. My Instagram: @jwariarts

I have always loved drawing from a young age, and my main interest was creating new worlds and characters. Drawing taught me that I can redefine the reality around me. My creative process has been long, and I have experience using many tools. I've used pencils, crayons, markers, and colored pencils. However, I fell in love with digital art later in my art journey. My passion for art was ignited by anime. Mainly under the influence of my older brother, I grew up consuming anime in the early 2000s. However, watching anime wasn't the "hip" trend then, especially among girls my age. Though I felt outcasted, I found creative sparks and inspiration by watching Naruto, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fairy Tail, and much more. Moving forward, my interests inspired me to pursue a degree that would further my passions. I'm choosing to pursue an education in the arts to make my dreams come true. I have this strong, innate desire to communicate to the world and the world to communicate back to me. Also, pursuing an education in the arts is a way to explore the unknown and worlds beyond our imagination. Frequently, as a child, I had difficulty expressing myself to others. Slowly, through art, I have been finding my voice and sharing my creativity online. I've drawn for as long as I can remember. Mermaids were at the top of my list if I wasn't drawing anime-inspired art. Art simply and freely allows me to imagine the unseen possibilities and explore the unknown. In the digital art space, I desire to create engaging narratives that pull at your heartstrings with exciting and interesting characters and beautifully imagined worlds and landscapes. I attended La Roche University for my undergraduate in Graphic Design, and I am currently pursuing my communication design master's at Texas State University. Afterward, I plan on getting a graphic design and/or animation job and taking additional classes to become a storyboard/character design artist, UI/UX designer, or motion designer. Finally, "A lesson without pain is meaningless. That's because no one can gain without sacrificing something. But by enduring that pain and overcoming it, he shall obtain a powerful, unmatched heart. A fullmetal heart." One of my favorite quotes from the anime is Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. This statement mirrors my journey through life and my experiences with pursuing art. I have given up, started over, given up again, and restarted this process more times than I can count. However, throughout my ongoing journey, I have repeatedly fallen in love with the creative process. And one day, by sharing my creative works, I inspire someone to pick up a pencil or Ipad and tell their unique story. Please check out my art on Instagram @jwariarts.

Food has been an integral part of society since the dawn of humanity. Through the building of complex cultures and traditions, food evolved into the exciting phenomenon it is today. However, the relatively new creation of junk food in the 1900s has significantly affected the health of many people worldwide. With the inception of junk food came an increase in health-related problems. Such problems I experienced in my own life. It's essential to have healthy eating habits because what you eat affects every aspect of an individual's life. My healthy eating journey started in my early to mid-20s. However, before that, I remember all the junk food I consumed. In elementary school, I could finish candy bars like Hershey's and 3 Musketeers in one sitting—inhale bags upon bags of chips like nothing. Now at 25, I struggle to complete a small piece of a whole candy bar. Eating too many processed foods would make my body feel sluggish and slow. I reminisce on the days when consuming junk food did not directly affect my mental or physical health. However, when my 20s hit, all the bad decisions I had made prior began to catch up with me. I had just completed my bachelor's degree in Graphic Design before pursuing my master's. Due to my degree, I spent many hours in front of my computer. The need for more movement added up over the years. Moving into a new home, I realized I was having trouble walking up the steps. Also, doing simple tasks like scrubbing the shower or mopping the flower had my back, arms, and knees in pain. Because I was in my early 20s, I assumed all these tasks should be easy for me because I was young. Since then, I needed to rethink my relationship with food. I started a new job in healthcare, and my body ached. I worked exhausting 8-hour shifts, where I would be on my feet 95% of the time, snacking on whatever junk food I could find. For the most part, I cooked my food. However, it wasn't any good. I had just come from relying on a 4-year meal plan in college to having to cook all my meals. At this point, I realized how heavily the way I ate was affecting my body both physically and mentally. So, I embarked on a healthy food journey. Looking into countless youtube videos, Instagram posts, and nutrition articles, I looked for ways to add healthy food to my diet and make it fun. Also, I tailored my diet to that of an athlete because I began going to the gym 3 to 4 days a week. I learned not to fear certain foods, like cake or cookies. Also, I became knowledgeable about which foods would fuel my body. I started meal prepping balanced meals days in advance to take to work and noticed significant changes. Not only was I more engaged with my residents at the senior care facility, my body was faster and lighter, and the fog that covered my mind was gone. Now at 25, my mental and physical health is better than when I started at 20 years old. I learned how to have a balanced, healthy relationship with food and appreciate my body more.

Art has been on my mind for as long as I can remember. Before I could participate in any formal art education, I drew what I could imagine. My head was forever in the clouds. The scribbles I created and that my parent's oh so loved were my crowning achievements in my early years. My love of art increased evermore once I started school. At school, that was where I met Mr. Hazard. Albert "Bud" J. Hazard was the art teacher at my school. At a towering 6 ft 5, Mr. Hazard was known affectionately to me as a gentle giant and an incredibly skilled artist. He fueled my artistic passions and gave me the skills to do so. Even after all these years, I remember him teaching me perspective and color theory. I gradually improved under Mr. Hazard's careful tutilage and my parent's subtle encouragement. When I entered the 7th grade, to my disappointment, Mr Hazard changed schools. I often dreamed of visiting him one day and showing him how much I had improved. Unfortunately, on April 5th, 2020, Mr. Hazard passed away after a long battle with cancer. My parents were my first inspiration, pushing me to continue pursuing my craft. Because of their harsh upbringings, instead of telling me to quit art and pursue other careers, they cheered me on. My father especially inspired me; he was creative in a unique way. A master of all trades, my father was skilled with his hands, and my mother often said I inherited my skills from my father. He could build anything and fix anything, whether it be cars, homes, furniture, you name it. Though he was a man of few words, he was proud of what I drew and always looked forward to what I would draw next. My father was so incredibly pleased to send me to college to pursue my degree in Graphic Design. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in the Fall of 2017 as my family and I planned to reunite. Hurricane Irma appeared as plans for my father to travel to the USA for the first time in many years. I remember the day clearly. I said, "It's going to be a good today." As I left my room, my friends and administration cornered me as I received an ominous phone call from my mom. That morning Irma hit, and my father had a heart attack. And due to the fallen trees and telephone poles, my mother and brother couldn't get him out of the neighborhood to the hospital, and he died. One of my biggest regrets was not sharing more of my projects with him and talking on the phone. Buried in my schoolwork, I thought I had time to call or visit when the semester ended. I was gravely mistaken. Though some of my most essential art inspirations have passed away with time, their teachings, love, and passions live on within me. They taught me to love art and the act of creating. More than anything else, they taught me the power art holds to connect people, the power art has to make the impossible possible, and the power art holds to turn dreams into reality. Please check out my art @jwariarts on Instagram.

On April 25th, 1998, I was born on the small island of St. Croix, USVI. My parents immigrated from Antigua and St.Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, fell in love, and had my older brother and me. My passion for art was ignited by anime. Mainly under the influence of my older brother, I grew up consuming anime in the early 2000s. However, watching anime wasn't the "hip" trend then, especially among girls my age. Though I felt outcasted, I found creative sparks and inspiration by watching Naruto, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fairy Tail, and much more. Imbued with that creative spark, every school year up until college, I would doodle my ideas on the backs of my notebooks when I should have been taking notes. Though I wasn't ostracised, I didn't fit in with many of my peers. Though I didn't fit in, I still was very passionate about being an artist. Watching the larger-than-life worlds of anime inspired me to want to be creative too. I yearned to take the ideas in my head and turn them into reality. I desired to draw images and create stories as draw-dropping as the ones I grew up watching. Moving forward, my interests inspired me to pursue a degree that would further my passions. I'm choosing to pursue an education in the arts to make my dreams come true. I have this strong, innate desire to communicate to the world and the world to communicate back to me. Also, pursuing an education in the arts is a way to explore the unknown and worlds beyond our imagination. Frequently, as a child, I had difficulty expressing myself to others. Slowly, through art, I have been finding my voice and sharing my creativity online. I've drawn for as long as I can remember. Mermaids were at the top of my list if I wasn't drawing anime-inspired art. Art simply and freely allows me to imagine the unseen possibilities and explore the unknown. In the digital art space, I desire to create engaging narratives that pull at your heartstrings with exciting and interesting characters and beautifully imagined worlds and landscapes. I attended La Roche University for my undergraduate in Graphic Design, and I am currently pursuing my communication design masters at Texas State University. Afterward, I plan on getting a graphic design and/or animation job and taking additional classes to become a storyboard/character design artist, UI/UX designer, or motion designer. Finally, "A lesson without pain is meaningless. That's because no one can gain without sacrificing something. But by enduring that pain and overcoming it, he shall obtain a powerful, unmatched heart. A fullmetal heart." One of my favorite quotes from the anime is Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. This statement mirrors my journey through life and my experiences with pursuing art. I have given up, started over, given up again, and restarted this process more times than I can count. However, throughout my ongoing journey, I have repeatedly fallen in love with the creative process. And one day, by sharing my creative works, I inspire someone to pick up a pencil or Ipad and tell their unique story.

The dream version of my future self is a creative who can take complex problems and communicate them to the world in a way only I know how.