When I was young, I didn't have many good memories. There was a lot of death that took place when I was young. The earliest being my cousin who was killed back in the day. Then followed my Great Grandma, then my grandma, and lastly one of my uncles. The most memorable ones that I only had positive memories of were gone. And after that was when I was around my mom and dad a lot more, which didn't bring a lot of good times either. While I can say in the chaos, I did have some good things come out of those times, unfortunately, weren't many. I ended up going from a very optimistic, bubbly, and driven kid and turned into a shell of my former self. Once I hit my 8th-grade year I was very quiet, I didn't want to make friends, I didn't express my opinions as I use to growing up. I was more introverted; I didn't have as much of a drive as I once did, and I couldn't figure out why. I did make friends around the middle to end of the year, but I never was truly happy. And unfortunately, once I hit my Junior year of Highschool, I ended up spiraling. I lost a very close friend and my boyfriend at the time, and the drama between her and me eventually tore a rift in our friend group. I thought it was over, I was going to lose everyone over things I tried to fix. And sadly, I ended up trying to end my life, due to losing faith in getting dealt a chance at having a good life. Not to mention all the art students taking drugs, harming themselves, and dying due to having no rest from the brutality of work and not having any personal lives outside of it. But things started to change once I got back to school after being admitted into a mental health facility for teenagers. After I got out, I realized that my friends did love and care about me. I had teachers who reached out to me and helped give them more of an understanding of how I was feeling. I got a bit of help too and got the drive I needed to finish up Highschool. I ended up getting into college and worked hard and now I'm transferring to a new school out of state to continue my dream to become an Animator. And one of my goals to make a positive impact on the world is to one day build my own company and give young talented POC teens and adults the opportunities that a lot of POC children don't get to have due to financial problems, or some parents not knowing how to be inclusive into careers that differ from the norm. I want to make a positive progression for people of color to be more involved in the arts and to have their voices heard on screen. I'm happy that I was able to have amazing people in my life to show me that things can change if you know you're sinking and don't have the energy to keep pushing yourself against the current. Tell someone what you're going through, and you'll see people swim down to come help pull you out of the darkness. Continue to live and your dreams will come to you.

Black artists are unique, but scarce additions to the arts. And being a black female artist who wants to be in the digital age of art I'm most likely going to have a hard time getting opportunities. But the best thing about me is that I am stubborn and a hardworking individual who works towards her dreams, and once I'm in a high enough position I want to be able to give opportunities to the next generation of black artists after me. As blacks, we have unique ideas and stories to tell. However, we do not get the same opportunities as our white counterparts. We have to work 10x harder to be able to have our work shown to the masses. And our parents do not have the financial capability to help provide for this lifestyle, which can be expensive. So I want to be able to help grow their abilities, give them a chance to shine, and help jumpstart into a career they'll love. All artists deserve a chance and I think black children who want to pursue a dream to become an artist should be obtained.

I’ve been drawing since I was around 4-5 years old. I remember always doodling on my mom’s abandoned shopping notebooks she use to have lying around the apartment. Then one day my Mother bought me my very own Sketchbook! And I was like “Yaay! I finally get to draw more doodles.” Drawing didn’t really impact my life until my late uncle snuck a little typography drawing he did of my name in that same sketchbook one day. That’s when I realized that he looked at and appreciate my skills without me realizing it. My uncle will always be my superhero, the man that told me with just a little drawing of my name, that he noticed when nobody else noticed and that he knows that this skill could take me places in the future. So I started going to art school to hone my skills and fast-forward to now and I’m in my second year of Art college pursing a career in Animation/Game Design. Once I graduate, I want to tell my own stories about the things I’ve lived through/relate with other POC through animation or games. Which ever I tend to pursue in the future, I want to create a bond with the audience and myself. I also want to make different types of media, whether that be music videos, games, movies, shows, ect. I want them all to tie into the theme of connection, and that we as a people can learn and understand from one another. I think I will be different because I like to communicate and listen to others, understand their struggles and beliefs and tie it into my own world. Like becoming one with another. Even if it isn’t vocal, just like my uncle showed me. May he rest in paradise. I love you Rominique.