My name is Jonathan Germany. I’m a black animator from Queens, and with that, I’m also an artist. I grew up with my older sister Jasmine. She was my role model. I was often described as intelligent, but I would “doze off” in school. It got worse in 3rd grade, when I moved neighborhoods mid-school year, from East New York (Brooklyn) to Rosedale, Queens, and attended my first public school, PS 138. In P.S. 138, kids loved to mess with me, which led to my outbursts. My teacher never seemed glad to see us. The class was always loud, and she would go “SHHHH” to get them quiet, which wouldn’t work, and the noise shredded my brain. Kids saw me as a goody two-shoes. They teased me daily, stole my belongings, and physically provoked me. Nothing noticeable was done to stop them, and it almost felt like the teacher didn’t care, even if that wasn't the case. If I ever were to react to the harassment, there would only be repercussions for me, and the next day, the harassment would continue. I didn’t know why I was so emotional, so inattentive, so fidgety. There was clearly something up with me, I was the only one in the class doing these things. It was the worst because in these incidents, the school never believed me or even took me seriously. I was always labeled a troublemaker when I knew my intentions were pure. What stopped me from causing any more trouble at school was making comics, my peace. Even through the tears on the paper, my comics, my characters, my pencils, were my serenity. I started with short comics on loose-leaf paper, creating my first one, an adaptation of "Tortoise and the Hare." My friend Ednick loved it, so we both started making our own together. These comics carried me through 3rd grade. In fourth grade, I got my first tablet, which sparked my passion for animation completely. Thanks to YouTube access, I discovered so many animators online. Odd1sOut and Jaiden Animations made these hilarious Storytime animations. There were even stick-figure animations from a whole community of talented animators called “Hyun's Dojo.” I yearned to learn how it worked. There were 2 apps I downloaded: Flip-a-Clip and StickNodes. Flip-a-clip was for fully hand-drawn animation. StickNodes with movable parts, you could even make your own models. They helped me to put my concepts and daydreams into something real. Art became my identity in school, known as "the kid who draws." In middle school, I met my best friend, Jelani Browne. We bonded over our love for cartoons and drawing. We drew each other's characters, we giggled over silly things in class. He even came over to chill during quarantine. We’ve been through rough times, though. We got so heated over the smallest things. We’d block each other online or interrupt each other, but through everything, we learned to listen. Most of our arguments stemmed from double-sided ignorance, so if being friends with Jelani taught me anything, it’s how to put my foot in someone else's shoe and respond after assessing their point of view. I appreciate how much Jelani and I have supported each other's growth. To this day, I use animation to put my imagination into visual existence. As I grow, I'd like to continue my story, including my fictional ones. My art is a part of me, and this part of me has gotten me through rough beginnings. To this day, I'm proud to have stuck to animation as a craft and as an outlet for my mental health.

My name is Jonathan Germany. I’m a black animator from Queens, and with that, I’m also an artist. I grew up with my older sister Jasmine. She was my role model. I was often described as intelligent, but I would “doze off” in school. It got worse in 3rd grade, when I moved neighborhoods mid-school year, from East New York (Brooklyn) to Rosedale, Queens, and attended my first public school, PS 138. In P.S. 138, kids loved to mess with me, which led to my outbursts. My teacher never seemed glad to see us. The class was always loud, and she would go “SHHHH” to get them quiet, which wouldn’t work, and the noise shredded my brain. Kids saw me as a goody two-shoes. They teased me daily, stole my belongings, and physically provoked me. Nothing noticeable was done to stop them, and it almost felt like the teacher didn’t care, even if that wasn't the case. If I ever were to react to the harassment, there would only be repercussions for me, and the next day, the harassment would continue. I didn’t know why I was so emotional, so inattentive, so fidgety. There was clearly something up with me, I was the only one in the class doing these things. It was the worst because in these incidents, the school never believed me or even took me seriously. I was always labeled a troublemaker when I knew my intentions were pure. What stopped me from causing any more trouble at school was making comics, my peace. Even through the tears on the paper, my comics, my characters, my pencils, were my serenity. I started with short comics on loose-leaf paper, creating my first one, an adaptation of "Tortoise and the Hare." My friend Ednick loved it, so we both started making our own together. These comics carried me through 3rd grade. In fourth grade, I got my first tablet, which sparked my passion for animation completely. Thanks to YouTube access, I discovered so many animators online. Odd1sOut and Jaiden Animations made these hilarious Storytime animations. There were even stick-figure animations from a whole community of talented animators called “Hyun's Dojo.” I yearned to learn how it worked. There were 2 apps I downloaded: Flip-a-Clip and StickNodes. Flip-a-clip was for fully hand-drawn animation. StickNodes with movable parts, you could even make your own models. They helped me to put my concepts and daydreams into something real. Art became my identity in school, known as "the kid who draws." In middle school, I met my best friend, Jelani Browne. We bonded over our love for cartoons and drawing. We drew each other's characters, we giggled over silly things in class. He even came over to chill during quarantine. We’ve been through rough times, though. We got so heated over the smallest things. We’d block each other online or interrupt each other, but through everything, we learned to listen. Most of our arguments stemmed from double-sided ignorance, so if being friends with Jelani taught me anything, it’s how to put my foot in someone else's shoe and respond after assessing their point of view. I appreciate how much Jelani and I have supported each other's growth. To this day, I use animation to put my imagination into visual existence. As I grow, I'd like to continue my story, including my fictional ones. My art is a part of me, and this part of me has gotten me through rough beginnings. To this day, I'm proud to have stuck to animation as a craft and as an outlet for personal problems.

My name is Jonathan Germany. I’m a black animator from Queens, and with that, I’m also an artist. I grew up with my older sister Jasmine. She was my role model. I was often described as intelligent, but I would “doze off” in school. It got worse in 3rd grade, when I moved neighborhoods mid-school year, from East New York (Brooklyn) to Rosedale, Queens, and attended my first public school, PS 138. In P.S. 138, kids loved to mess with me, which led to my outbursts. My teacher never seemed glad to see us. The class was always loud, and she would go “SHHHH” to get them quiet, which wouldn’t work, and the noise shredded my brain. Kids saw me as a goody two-shoes. They teased me daily, stole my belongings, and physically provoked me. Nothing noticeable was done to stop them, and it almost felt like the teacher didn’t care, even if that wasn't the case. If I ever were to react to the harassment, there would only be repercussions for me, and the next day, the harassment would continue. I didn’t know why I was so emotional, so inattentive, so fidgety. There was clearly something up with me, I was the only one in the class doing these things. It was the worst because, in these incidents, the school never believed me or even took me seriously. I was always labeled a troublemaker when I knew my intentions were pure. What stopped me from causing any more trouble at school was making comics, my peace. Even through the tears on the paper, my comics, my characters, my pencils, were my serenity. I started with short comics on loose-leaf paper, creating my first one, an adaptation of "Tortoise and the Hare." My friend Ednick loved it, so we both started making our own together. These comics carried me through 3rd grade. In fourth grade, I got my first tablet, which sparked my passion for animation completely. Thanks to YouTube access, I discovered so many animators online. Odd1sOut and Jaiden Animations made these hilarious Storytime animations. There were even stick-figure animations from a whole community of talented animators called “Hyun's Dojo.” I yearned to learn how it worked. There were 2 apps I downloaded: Flip-a-Clip and StickNodes. Flip-a-clip was for fully hand-drawn animation. StickNodes with movable parts, you could even make your own models. They helped me to put my concepts and daydreams into something real. Art became my identity in school, known as "the kid who draws." In middle school, I met my best friend, Jelani Browne. We bonded over our love for cartoons and drawing. We drew each other's characters, we giggled over silly things in class. He even came over to chill during quarantine. We’ve been through rough times, though. We got so heated over the smallest things. We’d block each other online or interrupt each other, but through everything, we learned to listen. Most of our arguments stemmed from double-sided ignorance, so if being friends with Jelani taught me anything, it’s how to put my foot in someone else's shoes and respond after assessing their point of view. I appreciate how much Jelani and I have supported each other's growth. To this day, I use animation to put my imagination into visual existence. As I grow, I'd like to continue my story, including my fictional ones. My art is a part of me, and this part of me has gotten me through rough beginnings. To this day, I'm proud to have stuck to animation as a craft and as an outlet for my mental health.

My name is Jonathan Germany. I’m a black animator from Queens, and with that, I’m also an artist. I grew up with my older sister Jasmine. She was my role model. I was often described as intelligent, but I would “doze off” in school. It got worse in 3rd grade, when I moved neighborhoods mid-school year, from East New York (Brooklyn) to Rosedale, Queens, and attended my first public school, PS 138. In P.S. 138, kids loved to mess with me, which led to my outbursts. My teacher never seemed glad to see us. The class was always loud, and she would go “SHHHH” to get them quiet, which wouldn’t work, and the noise shredded my brain. Kids saw me as a goody two-shoes. They teased me daily, stole my belongings, and physically provoked me. Nothing noticeable was done to stop them, and it almost felt like the teacher didn’t care, even if that wasn't the case. If I ever were to react to the harassment, there would only be repercussions for me, and the next day, the harassment would continue. I didn’t know why I was so emotional, so inattentive, so fidgety. There was clearly something up with me, I was the only one in the class doing these things. It was the worst because in these incidents, the school never believed me or even took me seriously. I was always labeled a troublemaker when I knew my intentions were pure. What stopped me from causing any more trouble at school was making comics, my peace. Even through the tears on the paper, my comics, my characters, my pencils, were my serenity. I started with short comics on loose-leaf paper, creating my first one, an adaptation of "Tortoise and the Hare." My friend Ednick loved it, so we both started making our own together. These comics carried me through 3rd grade. In fourth grade, I got my first tablet, which sparked my passion for animation completely. Thanks to YouTube access, I discovered so many animators online. Odd1sOut and Jaiden Animations made these hilarious Storytime animations. There were even stick-figure animations from a whole community of talented animators called “Hyun's Dojo.” I yearned to learn how it worked. There were 2 apps I downloaded: Flip-a-Clip and StickNodes. Flip-a-clip was for fully hand-drawn animation. StickNodes with movable parts, you could even make your own models. They helped me to put my concepts and daydreams into something real. Art became my identity in school, known as "the kid who draws." In middle school, I met my best friend, Jelani Browne. We bonded over our love for cartoons and drawing. We drew each other's characters, we giggled over silly things in class. He even came over to chill during quarantine. We’ve been through rough times, though. We got so heated over the smallest things. We’d block each other online or interrupt each other, but through everything, we learned to listen. Most of our arguments stemmed from double-sided ignorance, so if being friends with Jelani taught me anything, it’s how to put my foot in someone else's shoe and respond after assessing their point of view. I appreciate how much Jelani and I have supported each other's growth. To this day, I use animation to put my imagination into visual existence. As I grow, I'd like to continue my story, including my fictional ones. My art is a part of me, and this part of me has gotten me through rough beginnings. To this day, I'm proud to have stuck to animation as a craft and as an outlet for personal problems.