On a crisp autumn afternoon several years ago, I was at one of my church’s community events, hoping to receive commissions for caricatures, figuring people would like them for the upcoming holidays. At that time, I was sixteen. Although I had been drawing, imagining, and creating since I was four, I had no experience selling my artwork. Nonetheless, this was my chance to raise money for an upcoming mission trip to Wayland, Kentucky. As several hours passed by, however, so did most people. I eventually became discouraged, thinking I’d be lucky to have even one commission. That was until an aspiring author approached the stand. She enthusiastically mentioned writing a Christian book to speak to tweens, an overlooked demographic. She wanted me to illustrate it! Little did I know that that moment would change my life. Two years later, I would be the illustrator of “Let Your Light Shine: The Mighty Saints. Unite.” During the illustrating process, I realized that this is what I wanted to do with my life. Not only was I drawing, but I was also connecting with the story and characters and helping others connect with them. I was putting faces to the characters and imagery to the scenes, allowing the story to feel more real. I discovered the possible impact I could make when I received a letter from a thirteen-year-old girl earlier this year. She had been given the book as a gift from her grandmother. Just recently, her maternal grandfather had a severe heart attack and was not expected to survive, in addition to having lost her father only a few years ago. The book gave her hope. It inspired her to present it to her class, which in turn, inspired them as well. Even though I'm not the book series author, this young girl shared how my illustrations helped her connect to the narrative. It was then that I realized that I can benefit people with my art by inspiring and instilling hope in individuals who will read the books I illustrate and see the art I create. With that inspiration, they can make a difference in their communities, whether by sharing kindness or going beyond and offering service. Because of this, I plan to study illustration and graphic design in college. During my college years and after, I will continue to create. I will continue to illustrate the “Let Your Light Shine” series and take on other media projects, possibly outside of books, if offered the opportunity. I will continue to do what I love while inspiring my generation and those who come after.

Over my life, I’ve tried many mediums, Of course, starting with crayons to graphite, acrylic, oils, digital art, and even yarn and fabric. My mentality is to try everything, seeking opportunities for new passions. Narrowing myself to one medium would be difficult, if not impossible. I’ve always loved art. As a small child, with my multitude of crayons, colored pencils, chalk, and even colored eggshells left over from Easter, I’d recreate the world as I saw it. In school, I made countless doodles. Inevitably, at age 10, I started taking art classes. That is when art truly took off for me. Paint was a whole new medium experience, particularly because of my newfound freedom with colors. I’ve always loved colors, often finding it hard to pick a favorite when I was young. With paint, I learned how to mix different colors in a way that I never knew before. I learned about concepts like color complexity, color harmony, and color theory. I’m told that at an early age, I already had a grasp of hues, shading, and perspective, but this was so much more in-depth. To sneak hues into places they weren’t typically, like a bit of blue as a light reflection against a warm skin tone, it would itch something deep in my brain and brought sheer joy to my heart. But what I've learned to love most about art is the narratives I can convey. As a child, I wasn’t drawn to the fine arts, as galleries felt so stuffy. I felt limited, as if my art always had to have a “meaning” when all I wanted was to create pretty things that made me happy just looking at them. I, however, would later learn what it truly meant to put “meaning” into a piece. I wasn’t particularly good with my words, especially when feeling negative emotions. As life got more complex going into my teen years, so did my feelings. Art was my outlet for all my jumbled thoughts, scribbling out my frustrations and lightly sketching my sorrows. It helps me channel my thoughts visually what I could not put into words. In 2022, a Christian author shared that she was writing a book for tweens, an often overlooked demographic. She wanted me to illustrate it! Little did I know that that moment would change my life. I became the illustrator of “Let Your Light Shine: The Mighty Saints Unite.” I realized that this is what I want to do with my life. My drawings created connections to the story and characters; I was helping others connect with them too. I was putting faces to the characters and imagery to the scenes, allowing the story feel more real. I discovered the impact I could make when I received a letter from a thirdteen-year-old girl. She was given the book as a gift. Just recently, her maternal grandfather had a severe heart attack and was not expected to survive, in addition to having lost her father a few years ago. The book gave her hope. It inspired her to present it to her class; it inspired them as well. She shared how my illustrations helped her to connect to the narrative. It was then that I realized that I can benefit people with my art by inspiring and instilling hope in individuals who will read books that I illustrate. With that inspiration, they can, therefore, make a difference in their communities, whether that is sharing kindness or going beyond by offering service. I find it difficult to limit myself to one medium, I have a passion for ART.