The subject that I am most passionate about is definitely art. Particularly animation. I never had an interest in art growing up, but one day I saw an animated music video. It was the most jaw-dropping piece of visual media I had ever seen. I decided right then that I wanted to be an animator. I didn't get an animation program until recently, but I have spent all my time learning everything that I could about the art form. Due to that learning, I have also acquired many other art skills and appreciations that I never would have otherwise. Art is a way to make people feel connected and loved. I have the idea of a show in the makings, and if I can make that show a reality, and make people feel loved and seen within it, then all this time and effort will have been worth it. And even further, I will be able to help other people bring their dream projects to life as well. Art is so amazing, and I want to spread that across the world however I can.

Mental health has never been something that is easy for me. Even as a little kid, I felt lonely. I was homeschooled for most of my childhood, and that left me in a situation where it was infinitely harder to make friends. I would try, but nothing ever clicked. The few friendships I did have never ended well. As I got older, that started to impact my self-worth. I felt like no one cared about me for years. At some point I started to reflect on myself and started to learn who I was. I realized that I was transgender and I learned that my expression doesn't have to define who I am. I started to like myself just a little more, but not enough that I didn't still feel like I hated myself. And all that confusion and chaos of being young and finding out who you are led to some self-destructive behaviours. My poor arms did not know peace for a long time. I had things to try and help. The Youtuber Jammi Dodger was a huge source of comfort for me at the time and I started to discover music that I felt I could relate to. I also discovered my passion in life, with art and animation. But even while these big things were happening in my life, I still wasn't doing okay. It felt like nothing would ever get better. But then I moved halfway across the country. At the time it felt like nothing more than a change of scenery, until my parents informed me I would be enrolled into public school again. I felt hopeful, but I didn't want to get ahead of myself. But once I started going to school, and interacting with people my age every day, I started to feel a bit better. I learned in my first year of high school, that I loved being kind to people. Many times to my own detriment unfortunately, but it was still a good trait. I made some close friends. And some friends who were not so close but still cared about me. As time has gone on, I've gotten closer. I've had good times and bad times, but I've been through it all with dear friends who care about me. My mental health is still not where it should be, but I've made a lot of progress in these past four years that I am proud of, and thankful to my friends for. They will always be a part of my life I will never forget. They're more than my friends, they're family. I owe them everything. Even as I'm still struggling, I'm trying to move forward too. I want to spend my life making animated content that helps people in situations like I was in. I want to use art to comfort others, the way artists helped comfort me when I was young and in so much turmoil. I have a plan for an animated show that I want to produce someday. With characters that I hope can speak to many different people and experiences. Because we all deserve to be comforted when we're in chronic distress.

Art and animation are my passion. I’ve wanted to be an animator for years and have done everything I can to develop my skills in the field. From research to practice, I have done all I can to hone this difficult skill. I also enjoy digital art, drawing, painting, and multiple other forms of art. Though animation is my main passion. I really enjoy the process of bringing a character to life through my drawings. Art has the ability to be many things. It can challenge norms, connect an audience, tell a story. It can be all those things at once, and it can be something else entirely. I try to do that with my art as much as I can. I make things that I love, and hope to inspire others to make things that they love too. I try use my art to comfort people. I know that might sound weird, but it's true. I want to be kind and comforting to those around me, and I try to have my art reflect that. Which doesn't always mean that it's a cute and pleasant either. Sometimes in order to comfort someone, you have to get to the nitty-gritty of what their going through. As the saying goes, "art should disturb the comfortable, and comfort the disturbed". I hope to be able to become either an industry or indie animator to help bring others projects to life. But even further than that, I want to make my own show. I have the basics on what I plan to do with it, and am working to develop the storyline as much as I can on my own before I can get to work on attempting to bring the show to life. Tv shows and animation can bring people together and help them feel seen and loved. They can help people feel comforted. That's what my favorite animated media does for me. I really want to do that with my own show. As of the moment I am working on an animated short film showcasing one of the characters in my future tv show. As I know that making a show is something that can take a lot of time to get started though, I may begin my show as a comic in order to get people interested in the storyline. That way I can garner support to bring my show to its completion. I’m not sure how and I’m not sure when, but I will make this tv show at some point in my life.

To be creative to me, means to just be expressing something. A basic answer, I know, but one that rings true. I like to do a lot of character art, and a lot of times in that art I want to be expressing something about that character. Despair, happiness, fear. Or even deeper, what it means for that character to be alive. What their aspirations mean to them. Any number of things that a character can think or feel. I hope to one day have my own animated show, because I feel that is the best way to express my characters. I actually don't often express myself in my art, but that doesn't make me any less creative, because I am expressing something. I'm trying to get an idea across to whoever sees my art. Even if that message isn't received, I still tried to express it. That is what it means for anyone to be creative, in any medium.

Video games are such an amazing art form. As someone who wants to become an animator and have my own animated tv show someday, video games help give me inspiration on storytelling mechanics and art styles. Video games are such a unique medium that can help tell specific stories. From the art to the mechanics, all video games are wildly different experiences from one another, allowing for so many experiences to be had within them. Video games are also an amazing way to ponder philosophical questions. How the small details in the graphics point to an innate human interest in the mundane. How some games break the meta-narrative and scream at you that this is a game and you are a player inhabiting a character and not the character themselves. So many different things that can only be accomplished with a game. My favorite type of video game are the ones with multiple different endings. They allow for the player to have a hand in how the story turns out. No two people will have the exact same experience with the game, given that they can have different experiences with it, in a wildly different order. One person may only play a single playthrough of the game, and one person may discover every route and secret there is. I would love to make a small video game myself one day if I'm able. I know it's a complex medium with a lot of skill required, but if I could figure out how to make a small platform game, I'd have so much fun with it. It wouldn't have to be good, per se. It'd just have to be made by me. There are so many games out there that are basically flawless incarnate. But sometimes some of the best things are those that are special to just us. And if I could make a small game someday, it'd be just that. It's truly a modern art form that I highly appreciate. It's relatively new, so not too many people appreciate it. A lot may even scorn it as a child's medium, or a waste of time. But it can be truly beautiful if you look even slightly deeper. Video games get more huff than any other medium, but it truly is one of the most interesting and complex mediums to date. And even further to that, it's still relatively new. We have yet to discover everything we can do with this. And every day we go further into how we can immerse players into the storyline of a video game. I, for one, cannot wait to see where video games will go.