I have come a long way to embrace myself as a transmasculine person, as well as the other aspects of my identity, such as being disabled, chronically ill, and being Chinese. Art is my passion, and I incorporate these parts of myself in my work often to share my story. I have experience teaching children in my city's small Asian community, and it is something that I may continue to do in the future. I am currently working to graduate as an illustration major and pursue a career in concept design. The LGBTQ online community has helped me discover who I am and find others that relate to my experience. I currently live in a conservative city where I cannot truly be myself, but I am aiming to graduate college and move somewhere that will allow me to surround myself with others that can support me.

Diversity is something that is very important to me, and because I’m planning to work in the animation or video game industry, I want to create characters that kids, teens, or adults can relate to. What we see on TV or movies influences us, even when we don’t think about it. Growing up, there wasn’t a lot of representation in movies for well-written Asian, LGBTQ, or disabled people, and characters that were like me were often seen as a joke. Seeing people like me be represented as stereotypes caused a lot of harm to my self-esteem. If I got to see good representation as a child, I would have been more accepting of myself and my traits that were different than others. There is still a struggle right now to air shows without censorship, and that’s something that I would like to change. Art has such a rich history and played a huge role in society's biggest movements, and it will continue to be used as a tool to create change for the better. As someone who is disabled and Asian American, I plan to use my art as a way to bring attention to my voice, as society tends to silence voices like ours. I am majoring in illustration and concept art, and it's my dream to take part in media that is inclusive and breaks barriers that haven't been broken before. I want children and teens to look at my work and think, "I never thought of it this way before, maybe I can do something like this." I'm looking forward to making artwork in college that allows me to express myself without holding back.

Diversity is something that is very important to me, and because I’m planning to work in the animation or video game industry, I want to create characters that kids, teens, or adults can relate to. What we see on TV or movies influences us, even when we don’t think about it. Growing up, there wasn’t a lot of representation in movies for well-written Asian, LGBTQ, or disabled people, and characters that were like me were often seen as a joke. Seeing people like me be represented as stereotypes caused a lot of harm to my self-esteem. If I got to see good representation as a child, I would have been more accepting of myself and my traits that were different than others. I don't want today's children to go through the feeling of being unaccepted or alone in society. There is still a struggle right now to air shows without censorship, and that’s something that I would like to change. Characters with different backgrounds, appearances, and disabilities deserve to have a chance on screen. Art has such a rich history and played a huge role in society's biggest movements, and it will continue to be used as a tool to create change for the better. I plan to use my art as a way to bring attention to my voice, as society tends to silence voices like ours. It's my dream to take part in media that is inclusive and breaks barriers that haven't been broken before. I want Asian-American, queer, and autistic people to see themselves in the media that they love and believe that they can create something just as impactful. I want them to look at my creations and think, "Maybe I can do something like this," or "I never thought of this subject this way before." At the moment, I am using my social media to share important resources and information regarding issues in today's society. For the time being, I think it's very important to be someone who brings attention to those issues, until I finish college and have more power to make a change. Entering art college is a big step for me, and after years of preparation, I can finally say that I’m ready for the change. Because of my disability, I wasn’t able to go from high school straight to a 4-year university, but now I am looking forward to my art education. I’m excited to create something that I will be proud of, and hopefully inspire others as well.