Ever since I was young, I've been fascinated with art and design. I would spend my childhood making my own versions of my favorite comics, collaging, and even attempting to animate my own tv show. When I was in high school, I became very interested in political activism. This came from my history of volunteering at multiple organizations including my community tenant group, my local school, and the newspaper. During my tenth-grade year, I got an internship at the Brooklyn Children's Museum, interning as a Collection Intern. While there, we did multiple exhibitions discussing multiple inequities around New York. This encouraged me to combine my love of art and activism into one. It was there that I choose to go to Parsons, School of Design to help further my education. Equality has always been a motivation for me. Growing up as an African-American woman in New York I am nothing but aware of the inequity that surrounds me. My career goal is to design something for the betterment of my community. I believe in giving back. I hope to do so by creating my own design studio that focuses on community work. I want to work with communities that are underserved and focus on giving them a voice. A lot of modern-day design is biased this is due to a small sample pool and a lack of representation. I hope to bring all that I learn from both this school and my experiences as a minority in this field, to help make the world safe and accessible for everyone. I have already taken steps to do such while interning at LinkNYC, I was able to see my designs in person as I helped design local campaigns advocating for Accessible Wi-fi for all and educating people about New York City's rich LGBTQ history. I am setting the foundation in hopes to achieve this goal by focusing on food insecurity within my school and create something that can help bring food to those that need it. I have worked closely with my school's food pantry, talked to those that ran the New York City food banks and fridges, and spoken to organizations about how I, as a designer, can find a way to make this more accessible to people. So far, me and my classmates, have designed prototypes of apps that allow for a full database for these organizations. While we are very much in the beta phase, I am excited to see the positive change I can make. I have expanded my skill level by taking classes in Animation, Photography, Illustration, and Graphic Design. Due to the variety of classes, I have taken, I find that my discipline as an artist has grown. I have also achieved many other goals that I have dreamed of including but not limited to being the residential advisor for my freshman dorm, getting nominated for the Emerging Narwhal Leadership award, and even having plans to study abroad in Paris.

Hello, my name is Janay. I am a current Junior at Parsons, School of Design. Ever since I was young, I've been fascinated with art and design. I spent my childhood making my own versions of my favorite comics, collaging, and even attempting to animate my own tv show, trying to imitate all the wonder she created. When I was in high school, I became very interested in political activism. This came from my history of volunteering at multiple organizations including my community tenant group, my local school, and the newspaper. During my tenth-grade year, I got an internship at the Brooklyn Children's Museum, interning as a Collection Intern. While there, we did multiple exhibitions discussing multiple inequities around New York. This encouraged me to combine my love of art and activism into one. It was there that I choose to go to Parsons, School of Design to help further my education. Equality has always been a motivation for me. Throughout my time at the school, I got the chance to give back to my community. This year I focused on food insecurity within my school and create something that can help bring food to those that need it. I have worked closely with my school's food pantry, talked to those that ran the New York City food banks and fridges, and spoken to organizations about how I, as a designer, can find a way to make this more accessible to people. So far, me and my classmates, have designed prototypes of apps that allow for a full database for these organizations. While we are very much in the beta phase, I am excited to see the positive change I can make. Due to the variety of classes, I have taken, I find that my discipline as an artist has grown and allowed me to gave back to the community. I I have also gotten the chance to help make a positive impact within the school by joining clubs. A great example is our Community Wear club that makes clothing and blankets from our scraps in our fashion department for people who are unhoused. I also continue to make changes within my community at home, I have been volunteering ever since I was in high school. I first volunteered at my communities tenant union, helping them plan strikes, Growing up, I was always aware that there was always a chance we might lose our home. When I was young, I grew up in a one-bedroom, my parents took the bedroom, and I, on the living room in a pull-out Fulton. We were living in a rent-stabilized building and as the neighborhood grew, and things changed, we watched the people owning us try to fight us out of the building. That was when I first learned about housing security. It was here that my passion to get involved in my tenant union, volunteering during my free time. During my time there I got the chance to learn and research the laws that make sure everyone has housing security. I also got the chance to advocate for myself and my neighbors to keep our rent stable. I have also gotten the chance to intern at LinkNYC, designing local campaigns advocating for Accessible Wi-fi for all and educating people about New York City's rich LGBTQ history.

Throughout my life, I have struggled with depression. Each time, I overcame it, living past what I thought would be my last year. In my first year of college, my depression came back - full-forced. I was in a new environment for the first time - fully alone. I went to a prestigious university - Parsons, School of Design and felt inadequate in almost every single way. I had never gone to an art school before, and neither my high school or college focused on art. I was self-taught in almost all aspects of the word. Everything I learned up until that point had been from youtube, self-teaching books, and other tips and tricks that I pierced together. By the time I entered Parsons, I was aware of all my faults. Everyone had seemed so experienced, and spoke eagerly of their past history, with huge accomplishments. The accomplishments I did have - an internship at the Brooklyn Children Museum, small but frequent shows and a small but sizable following had seemed dismal. I crawled into myself with no one to talk to and struggled in balancing both school work and my little free time. My life was slowly being consumed by each project - eager to prove to myself that I belonged here and was not accepted purely out of pity. Whenever I thought of rest, a voice in my mind would tell me that I was here only on scholarship. That each work I put in must be hundred percent even if I was not at a hundred percent. It was more often to find me working diligently through the night then to find me actually resting. If I was not focusing on my schoolwork then I was at work for the admission center, bustling between phone calls and emails. Who am I kidding, I would say, Who do I think I am? My mother is a single mom, putting herself (and me) through college at the same time. Nights were spent, huddling with each other, commenting on both of our term papers, giving and receiving feedback. My dream is to own a graphic design firm and pay off both of our student loans. I’d make life easier for us then what it is right now. The dream at the time had seemed so far away. Far enough, that I had thought about giving it up entirely. Sooner rather than later, my imposter syndrome became an overarching part of my life. Compliments that I received in my weekly critique would fly over my head. Any offers that came my way I was sure came mostly out of pity. How could anyone love what I made? Despite my heart and soul being present in my work, I was sure it was not enough and that I must work harder It was not until a friend stepped in, worried about my mental health and urged me to do something - anything - did I reach out to my school’s mental health provider. I was sickly then, having dropped almost 5 pants sizes from skipping lunch and dinner to work. Frustration was eating at me as the work piled up and eventually I had trouble living in my own room. I had confessed to her my fears of the future, and what little of a social life that I had now. Life was moving fast, and I feared that I fell behind. Her advice was simple but life-changing. What did you love to do in high school? I had loved the clubs I went to; dance clubs had become my personal haven in the moments where I felt the stress would consume me. I enjoyed working in the library instead of the confines of my own room, where I would mostly venture into reading a book rather than the task at hand, I loved making - that is why I wanted to be an artist. To constantly make something, to give birth to new ideas, new concepts, that I made with my own hand. I loved learning. The college transition is hard. She reassured me. I shouldn’t knock myself down for needing the time to adjust. She had urged me to look into the clubs. To write down each compliment that I received on each critique on a post-it note for me to look back on. On our weekly emails, she would send me school events. With a friendly reminder, to follow my interest, not just my schoolwork. I slowly reached out to old friends, explaining the time we had drifted apart and even met some new ones. I joined clubs and participated in some of the events the school threw. I began to meet with teachers to talk more about my work, to find the ways I excelled and fell short. From those opportunities birthed new ones. People reached out to me to work on projects. My art had gotten showcased on the freshman email for the school. I slowly become stronger in myself. I am here to learn. I would say to myself often. I deserve the same amount of leniency that I would to anyone learning a new skill. This moment in my life has influenced my beliefs, relationship and career aspirations. It was almost like I got the chance to relearn myself, I grew kinder to myself, I understood how to take care of myself and I knew I could pick myself up whenever I fell down. I became a better friend because of that. My relationship with people at that time also grew stronger, as they remained pilers during some of my darkest times. However, I never forgot how hard those moments were and without external help, I wouldn't have made the recovery that I did. This has influenced my career aspirations as a designer by wanting to create more for community. I was able to make the recovery that I did because I had people around me who love me.

The most important thing a person can do is take care of their health. Growing up, I watched both my mother and father fight health battles. My father struggles with diabetes, and I had to watch my mother go through multiple rounds of surgery as doctors found more and more benign tumors. I saw the sacrifices both my mother and father had to endure because of their health issues. Growing up with these experiences made me very self-conscious about what I put in my body. I believe it is important to have healthy eating habits because it protects me against many chronic noncommunicable diseases and other health risks. So often, our outer reality reflects what we feed ourselves, and how well we continue to love and nourish the person that we are. One of the best ways we can do that is by sticking to healthy eating habits. The differences I noticed in myself once I started eating healthy both physical and mental have been astronomical. Growing up, my eating habits were horrid. I used to drink soda with each meal, begged every day for McDonald's nuggets, and thought chips were applicable sides for every meal. I remember feeling sluggish each morning, agitated with every small thing, and would occasionally have moments where I would have intense headaches, forced to lie in bed, bemoaning everything wrong in the world. When I began to cut processed food from my diet and focused on eating plant-based meals, it was an instant difference. I had more energy to do the things I love, my anxiety started to decrease along with the small bouts of depression that I struggled with as a kid. In an almost weird way, I even learned to love myself better, when I felt good I wanted to honor that, learning to do the things I enjoyed and make that a priority in my life. There are slip-ups, moments where I might eat McDonald's for days straight but through eating healthy I learned how to listen to my body, to understand that when I eat too much sugar, I will usually have a headache, or that filled to the brim feeling, like the food is slushing around your stomach made me achingly uncomfortable and sick, or even the difference between hunger and intense thirst. Through healthy eating, I have become friends with my own body, something in which I take immense pride in.

My favorite Disney character is Tiana. Not only is Tiana the first time I saw a princess on the screen that resembles me, but she broke all of the stereotypes that I had resolved were the guidelines for people like me to be represented on the screen. She wasn't lazy, had ambition on her own, wasn't looking for a significant other or bemoaning faults that were so trivial that the audience was meant to laugh at her, to look and say: if only she knew how good she has it! She existed beyond all of these and more importantly, she existed without the existence of her white counterpart. Her ambitions and dreams were celebrations of her culture. They showed the joy and love of everything I experienced as a child. She cooked jambalaya and ate it with joy. She danced to music so native to the streets of New Orleans, tha5 new jack swing, that when seeing it with my grandmother she would pause the movie in between to spill stories of her mother dancing to those songs in her youth. She was an intelligent, resourceful, passionate, and ambitious woman. Traits I could find and admire in the women in my family. Even the love story Tiana was given did not hinder her, one that didn't force her to accept being mistreated - a trope that for women that look like me is rehashed and rehearsed - she was treated as beautiful, nothing less. I hope one day to be just like Tiana. I want to join the animation field and create my animated movies. A task that I know will not be easy. There are not many women in that field and even fewer that are black. I want to give children the same joy that I felt when I saw Tiana on the screen, the same rush of - one day, that can be me! That feeling that I can conquer anything as long as I put my mind to it.

When I mentioned that I would be pursuing art in college, my counselor became hesitant, when I mentioned that I would be applying to Parsons as my first choice, her face fell. "Janay," She started. "Are you sure?" I was silent. "I don't think your personality was made for." She said. "Perhaps we should look for options that are more you." I couldn't recall what I said afterward. I just remember coming home with a list of colleges majoring in communications. I remember crying in the bathroom. Upset that she had dismissed the idea so easily. As if it had been nothing. The next month, I had gritted my teeth, had pilled all of my drawings together in a portfolio, and took myself to portfolio day. The portfolio lady had taken one look and shook her head. "I love your ideas. I do. It's just - the technique isn't there." I nodded my head and on the bus home, wrote that exact sentence in my sketchbook. I could use it, I thought to myself. In the following weeks, my YouTube was populated with videos discussing every aspect of art I could teach myself. I went home and studied everything on that list. The night before all of my applications was due, I tore up my counselor's recommendations of colleges and submitted my own. All I had to do was wait. I had been in class when my phone had vibrated in my pocket. I excused myself and ran into the bathroom. Congratulations Janay, it read, You have been accepted. The next email came in a week. Please accept this scholarship on our behalf. This moment in my life taught me to continue to put faith in myself. That if I believed that I could do it then it was possible.

A change that I want to see more in the world, but starting with my community is access to sustainable healthcare. Growing up, I was taught that Health is the greatest prize. Protecting your health is a form of self-care that is often negated, but one's health also affects one mental. By eating locally, and having healthy options that are affordable and convenient, one is given the power to protect not only their health but also their community. As health starts from what you put in your mouth first. I start here, currently, by accessing my neighborhood garden and donating to the food bin. Taking a step further, it is also important to make healthcare accesable to each and every person. Living should not be something someone should pay for. Their life should not have a price. This leads me to my biggest dream and largest ambition which is to create a space where everyone's life and health are valued. I think that there should be NATO laws that encourages each country to offer free health service, accessibility to organic, healthy ingredients in each neighborhood, safe working conditions and hours, and so on and so forth.

One of the artists that I deeply admire is Felix Gonzalez-Torres, his ability to take modern day objects and create a deeper meaning is awe-worthy. My favorite piece and one of his most famous is the Perfect Lovers, I love the way he took a simple clock and used it as an alegory of love and grief. This thinking really forced me to take a step back and see if there's any art that can be made with the things I have simply around me. He was one of my first introductions to conceptual art and one of the many artist who had the longest lasting impact.