Most of my life has been defined by wanting to escape. Wanting to escape discrimination, generational trauma, Or, just escape who I am. For a long time I thought that the feeling of wanting to escape would never end; I thought I was destined to live my life in misery. Even though I dreaded everyday to come the one thing that kept me going was art. It was a simple comfort during those dark times and brought me peace when nothing else could. Through this artistic expression I was able to find meaning in my life again. When I reflect on some of the hardest days of my life, when I didn't even feel like getting up out of bed, I can recall one thing I always did no matter how bad I felt; I drew. I would draw characters from amazing fantasy lands filled with magic; Instead of focusing on the present I would allow myself to get lost in my own imagination, secretly hoping that I'll never be able to return to reality again. The reality where I was bullied constantly for my appearance; The reality where I was constantly pressured by those around me to fit into a rigid mold; The reality where I had no friends. But in my imagination, I was beautiful, adaptable, and surrounded by people who loved me. I was whoever I wanted to be. As I grew older, the issues that troubled me were amplified; Anxiety, depression, low self esteem. I wasn’t a naive little kid anymore who could pretend that nothing was wrong. Thankfully with the help of my school, I was finally able to get the therapy that I needed. With therapy, I was able to develop healthy coping skills rather than just being paralyzed from sadness. For the first time in years I was thinking about goals for the future and my major goal was to be an artist. I reflected back on all that art had done for me. It allowed me to channel my emotions in a healthy way and gave me a way to escape my circumstances. I decided to dedicate my life to making art because I want those who also feel alone, just like I did, to discover how art can empower them when they feel helpless. Receiving this scholarship would help me achieve that goal; The goal that has motivated me through thick, and thin.

Just a week ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action, sending shockwaves across the US and even some European countries. I believe this ruling is hard proof that the US is going backward. Affirmative action was first put in place to give marginalized groups that have been historically denied an education a fighting chance; Now, it's the butt of jokes on Instagram comment sections. I've witnessed a notable rise in radically apathetic attitudes toward marginalized groups everywhere in the past four years. As someone who's a minority, it's scary to think my rights could be taken away at almost any given moment; Marginalized groups shouldn't have to live in fear every day. If society were to prioritize equity between marginalized groups and the privileged there would be less suffering in the world. My city has always had an enormous homelessness issue. It's common to see people begging on the streets, regardless of rain, sleet, or snow. My house is only a 6 minute walk away from a camp of homeless people, located right by the highway downtown. What's worse is the downtown area is notorious for murders and car crashes, leaving these people extremely vulnerable to being seriously injured or worse. In such a hot spot I've also noticed a huge uptick in homeless people sleeping on the street ever since my city's homeless shelter downtown was closed. I was in shock when I first found out because just a few months prior I had seen it very full. How I had seen it though was something that, to this day, is still unfathomable to me. I was on a job, cleaning brand-new luxury apartments right across the street from the shelter. As I wiped away the dust on the Barn Sliding door in the apartment I was working on, I looked out the window and saw the torn-up yellow blinds on multiple units in the shelter. My heart immediately sank in a rage. How was it possible that people who get to DoorDash their food every night live right across from those who can barely afford to eat? The absurdity of the situation was enough to make me boil with anger. Since the previously mentioned incident, my eyes have been significantly opened to how society treats disadvantaged groups poorly. I've seen disgustingly sexual comments on innocuous online posts because the poster is a woman; I've witnessed the staff from my high school be blatantly racist towards students without any repercussions; I've watched my friends suffer from obvious abuse from their parents only for CPS to fail them and end up right back at square one. Despite everything, I still believe that society could change its ways and be able to respond to these issues in an effective, healthy way. If we were to think about the needs of others and were open to collaboration, we could come up with unselfish solutions to the world's major problems. All it takes is a few people.

Art historically has had a reputation of bringing people from all different backgrounds together. Audiences flock to art museums, go to movie theaters, and attend concerts together, all for different reasons. Yet, regardless of barriers like, race, sexuality, and class, they are united under the feelings the art ignites within them. I've been fortunate enough to do all of the activities listed and each time I've experienced a rush like nothing I've ever felt before; The positive energy of the people around me, enjoying the same experience all at once is a feeling I'll never forget. I'm motivated to choose art as a career path because I want to unite other people through my art and inspire them to create art as well. For my entire life, but especially in childhood, I've struggled to connect with others socially; I would be the last person to understand a job, misinterpret other's tone, and be generally unaware of what I was expected to do in certain social settings. Navigating social interactions felt like a never ending maze; But, making art never felt that way; It had always just came naturally to me. When I was little I didn't understand why I felt the urge to create, I only knew it felt right. So, through my love of art I discovered my own way of connecting with others. My art piqued my peers interests and by them asking questions, and me giving them answers, a sort of social invitation was extended to me; An unexpected one. I learned that people around me are usually fascinated by a process, that to me, had become as natural as breathing. So, In place of navigating the delicate nature of conversation, I would create art with other people as a way of connecting. Exchanging doodle paper in elementary, writing comics with my friends in middle school, and collaborating on songs in high school, are all ways that I found to connect with other people. When I discovered this newfound way of connecting to people, it felt like the unspoken boundaries and rules of social interaction had evaporated completely. My lifelong dream is that my two most developed projects will make people rethink about the connections they form in life and inspire them to form community through creating artwork together. My first project, The Mask, is planned to be an animated series and/or comic following a young girl navigating a post apocalyptic world who is adopted by a group of teenagers trying to survive. As more clues are revealed about what caused the chaos afflicting the entire world, the young girl also must uncover the secrecy surrounding her identity and confront her past psychological trauma. Tensions also rise within the group taking care of her as they grow suspicious of her origins and the unknown reasons for why the young girl never takes off the mask she wears. Starcrossed follows a young alien who's scientific career has just started to take off. Unfortunately however, she's plagued with a reaccuring dream of a foreign creature who seems to taunt her with it's presence by drawing her in with its beauty. And although she tries, she's unable to shake the image of this entity from her mind. The story has only just begun though when she finally meets this entity through a technological malfunction. In conclusion, I've always been passionate about art and longing for connection with others; Forever wondering if there were people like me who felt the same. Fortunately however, through the social awkwardness of my childhood, the discovery of collaborative artwork, and the creation of my biggest projects, I've found the purpose of why I'm so compelled to create; Because creating art has brought me closer to others.