My parents are Bosnian immigrants who moved to America to escape the aftermath of the Yugoslav war. They found humble jobs at Walmart and Tyson and have worked together to raise three children. My mother works full-time as a sales associate, yet she manages to be a perfect housewife by doing the majority of the cooking and cleaning. My father works the night shift as ‘clean-up’ and often works overtime to bring extra money home. They were and still are often consumed by the stress of all that work. This has negatively affected their performance as parents, consequently negatively affecting the mental well-being of my siblings and me. However, they are not bad parents; they are loving, but they are not perfect. They were the ones who instilled what I believe to be my greatest attributes, my work ethic and love for art. Everyone in my family found a way to cope with all the mixed emotions and pressures of life; my parents watch Turkish dramas, my older brother plays video games, and my seven-year-old sister has begun playing make-believe games. I found my comfort through watching the classic “Tom and Jerry” cartoons, a series that was introduced to me by my father. The hilarious gags and bouncy action offered me an escape from my parents’ stressful lives, and it gave me a more humorous perspective on life. I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment. I soon began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; the medium fascinated me, so I started researching. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind. A team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single beautiful episode. Animation has also impacted many close people in my life. A majority of my friends now have been made through the interest and understanding of art. My old-fashioned father loves the Pixar film “Coco” for its tasteful religious undertones and its focus on remembering those who have passed. The community built behind every Western cartoon I’ve seen has been full of inspired teenagers and senior fan artists who eagerly engage with one another. This form of digital art has brought everyone closer to me, and I want to be able to give that sense of togetherness to someone else. Ever since I discovered my love for animated features, I have become determined to recreate and gift the comfort those old cartoons gave to me. I now specialize in the iPad drawing application, Procreate. While in high school, I joined the art club and entered my digital pieces into contests. During my senior year, I gold-sealed in Texas’s largest high school art competition, The Visual Art Scholastic Event. I became successful artistically with academics to match; I ranked fifth in my class with a Grade point average of slightly over one hundred. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will be incredibly hard work, but my parents have taught me any hardship can be overcome. They've overcome a war, now I must overcome my future financial and educational stress.

I am inspired by the absurd storytelling capabilities of the artists around me, and I am motivated by the idea of being an artist that inspires. I want my art to bring different types of animated storytelling to Western audiences and eliminate the stigma that all animated movies are “for children.” Digital art should be viewed as a medium full of potential instead of a silly genre that adults avoid. I grew up watching my father’s favorite cartoon, the classic “Tom and Jerry” shorts. The simple idea of a cat-and-mouse rivalry captivated my young mind, making me question the world around me. It would be impossible for a mouse to realistically chainsaw a cat in half, yet the concept made complete sense in the animated world. I began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; the medium fascinated me, so I began researching. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind. A team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single beautiful episode. Animation makes fictional stories a reality, and it gives humanity to characters that can never exist. I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment, because I realized truly anything can happen in animation; there are no real-world constraints. One artist that specializes in this duality of reality and fantasy is the legendary animation director, Satoshi Kon. I first stumbled upon his work through the 1997 thriller, “Perfect Blue.” The animated story follows a young woman pursuing a career in acting, but the past idol version of herself is haunting her. The story may sound simple, but the movie is entirely told through the perspective of an unreliable narrator. Mima, the main character, slowly becomes unable to differentiate between her life on camera and her private life. The audience is taken on a mental roller coaster ride as they are forced to see the world through Mima’s eyes, but they are all captivated nonetheless. Many of Satoshi Kon’s works featured this element of abstract duality, but Satoshi Kon was not limited to the different styles of movies he could produce. He could go from the horror thriller, “Perfect Blue,” to the wholesome comedy,” Tokyo Godfathers.” Even if the movies were vastly different from one another, one could always tell if Satoshi Kon was the mind behind the project. It is all grounded in reality, but how a character sees the world completely changes the reality of their situation. At some points, reality doesn’t matter at all, the only thing that ends up being significant is what the characters have taken away from their odd experiences. I want to continue this tradition of unnatural storytelling by creating my own animated series or webcomic focused on the lives of the last remaining humans on Earth. In my story, fabricated gods judge the monopoly humans have created on their home planet against all other species. When judged, these all-powerful deities decide to spare the lives of five to ten humans by protecting and isolating them from a supernatural, nuclear fallout. Millions of years after the end of humanity, those few that were saved would rematerialize without memory into a world that is now inhabited by various animals and creature societies with human intelligence. The story would follow the humans as they begin to find their place in a world that has no idea what they are. The characters will each have different designs, backgrounds, and personalities despite their amnesiac backstories so realistically different perspectives appear more natural. How they view the world around them will change how the audience will see my art. For example, if a character’s mental health slowly starts to slip then I will ensure the environment around them begins to decay. If a character is blatantly ignoring the hardships around them then their environment will feature a false sense of security despite how dangerous it clearly is. I want to showcase the best and worst parts of humanity by making something eye-catching and impossible to ignore. I want to be an artist and a leader like Satoshi Kon. He is known as one of the best animation directors of all time despite having only worked on a few projects before his premature death. He was beloved by the people he worked with, and many saw him as both humble and kind. He is a role model to me, someone who I can only hope to live up to. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will be incredibly hard work. But if I can create something that revolutionizes animation to its fullest capabilities, then I believe it will all be more than worth it.

My art education has inspired me to pursue different types of storytelling in western animations. I want to be an artist who captivates audiences with my creativity, work ethic, and general character. I grew up watching my father’s favorite cartoon, the classic “Tom and Jerry” shorts. The simple idea of a cat and mouse rivalry captivated my young mind, and it made me question the world around me. It would be impossible for a mouse to realistically chainsaw a cat in half, yet the concept made complete sense in the animated world. I began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; the medium fascinated me, so I began researching. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind. A team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single beautiful episode. Animation makes fictional stories a reality, and it gives humanity to characters that can never exist. I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment, because I realized truly anything can happen in animation; there are no real world constraints. One artist that specializes in this duality of reality and fantasy is the legendary animation director, Satoshi Kon. I first stumbled upon his work through the 1997 thriller, “Perfect Blue.” The animated story follows a young woman pursuing a career in acting, but she is being haunted by the past idol version of herself. The story may sound simple, but the movie is entirely told through the perspective of an unreliable narrator. Mima, the main character, slowly becomes unable to differentiate between her life on camera and her private life. The audience is taken on a mental roller coaster ride as they are forced to see the world through Mima’s eyes, but they are all captivated nonetheless. Many of Satoshi Kon’s works featured this element of abstract duality, but Satoshi Kon was not limited in the different styles of movies he could produce. He could go from the horror thriller, “Perfect Blue,” to the wholesome comedy,” Tokyo Godfathers.” Even if the movies were vastly different from one another, one could always tell if Satoshi Kon was the mind behind the project. It is all grounded in reality, but how a character sees the world completely changes the reality of their situation. At some points, reality doesn’t matter at all, the only thing that ends up being significant is what the characters have taken away from their odd experiences. I want to be an artist and a leader like Satoshi Kon. He is known as one of the best animation directors of all time despite having only worked on a few projects before his premature death. He was beloved by the people he worked with, and many saw him as both humble and kind. He is a role model to me, someone who I can only hope to live up to. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will be incredibly hard work. But if I can create something that revolutionizes animation to its fullest capabilities, then I believe it will all be more than worth it.

I want to be an artist who inspires future artists and captivates audiences with my creativity, work ethic, and general character. I grew up watching my father’s favorite cartoon, the classic “Tom and Jerry” shorts. The simple idea of a cat and mouse rivalry captivated my mind, and it made me question the world around me. It would be impossible for a mouse to realistically chainsaw a cat in half, yet the concept made complete sense in the animated world. I began watching more cartoons with diverse styles; the medium fascinated me, so I began researching. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind. A team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single episode. Animation makes fictional stories a reality, and it gives humanity to characters that can never exist. I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment, because I realized truly anything can happen in animation; there are no real world constraints. One artist that specializes in this duality of reality and fantasy is the legendary animation director, Satoshi Kon. All of his work are grounded in reality, but how a character sees the world completely changes the reality of their situation. At some points, reality doesn’t matter at all, the only thing that ends up being significant is what the characters have taken away from their odd experiences. I want to be an artist and a leader like Satoshi Kon. He is known as one of the best animation directors of all time despite having only worked on a few projects before his premature death. He was beloved by the people he worked with, and many saw him as humble. He is someone who I can only hope to live up to. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job to help pay off my upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will be incredibly hard work. But if I can create something that revolutionizes animation to its fullest capabilities, then I believe it will all be more than worth it.

My love for art stems from its ability to twist and expand what already exists into something unrealistically beautiful. I grew up watching my father’s favorite cartoon, the classic “Tom and Jerry” shorts. The simple idea of a cat and mouse rivalry captivated my young mind, and it made me question the world around me. It would be impossible for a mouse to realistically chainsaw a cat in half, yet the concept made complete sense in the animated world. I began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; the medium fascinated me, so I began researching. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind. A team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single beautiful episode. Animation makes fictional stories a reality, and it gives humanity to characters that can never exist. I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment, because I realized truly anything can happen in animation; there are no real world constraints. One artist that specializes in this duality of reality and fantasy is the legendary animation director, Satoshi Kon. I first stumbled upon his work through the 1997 thriller, “Perfect Blue.” The animated story follows a young woman pursuing a career in acting, but she is being haunted by the past idol version of herself. The story may sound simple, but the movie is entirely told through the perspective of an unreliable narrator. Mima, the main character, slowly becomes unable to differentiate between her life on camera and her life off camera. The audience is taken on a mental roller coaster ride as they are forced to see the world through Mima’s eyes, but they are all captivated nonetheless. Many of Satoshi Kon’s works featured this element of abstract duality, but Satoshi Kon was not limited in the different styles of movies he could produce. He could go from the horror thriller, “Perfect Blue,” to the wholesome comedy,” Tokyo Godfathers.” Even if the movies were vastly different from one another, one could always tell if Satoshi Kon was the mind behind the project. It is all grounded in reality, but how a character sees the world completely changes the reality of their situation. At some points, reality doesn’t matter at all, the only thing that ends up being significant is what the characters have taken away from their odd experiences. I want to be an artist and a leader like Satoshi Kon. He is known as one of the best animation directors of all time despite having only worked on a few projects before his premature death. He was beloved by the people he worked with, and many saw him as both humble and kind. He is a role model to me, someone who I can only hope to live up to. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will be incredibly hard work. But if I can create something that is even half as wonderful as Satoshi Kon’s work, then it will all be more than worth it. I want to make others see the beauty of a bent reality.

The principles of math have greatly influenced my real-world problem solving capabilities. The purpose of math is to find and prove the definite answers the universe keeps locked away. People mistake the entire nature of math to be very linear or black and white, so they discard its use in modern day problem solving. The answers math gives us may be very concrete, however, the problems that math tackles are incredibly gray. The purpose of humanity is to question and discover the world around them, and the mathematical process is one of the best tactics humanity has used to fulfill their purpose. It is easy to become overwhelmed in life when one has to constantly tackle complicated issues. Humanity is often blinded by what is considered a bigger picture; math has taught me to reflect and break a problem down into manageable steps. Whenever I was given an assignment by my calculus teacher, she would advise me to always look at the basic fundamentals and see their patterns. Integrals are able to measure area and undo derivatives, but they may only do so after they are put into a simple form. A greatest common factor should be looked for and taken out first to lessen any future arithmetic. A quick glance at the possible nested function inside the integral could quickly inform one of whether a U-substitution is required. The existence or nonexistence of bounds on the integral determines if a variable will appear in the final answer. These basic rules in the deconstruction of integrals sound difficult on paper, however, the noticeable repetition in the integrals solving process makes them manageable in practice. I did not rank number five during my senior year in Randall High School by having gifted intelligence; I achieved it by simplifying and memorizing my work processes. Similarly, when I begin a new art piece, I know there are certain checkpoints I must pass to achieve an eye-catching piece. My artwork must include good compositions, thought out shading, proper proportions, and carefully selected colors. Professional artists do not rely on the stereotypical concept of inspiration to produce their works nor are they held back by burnout. Professional artists weaponize an effective work style to their advantage. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will take a lot of work, but I do not have to do it all in one day. The work will be spread out and put into a routine, so I can continue to take it one step at a time.

My journey with mental health has shaped every facet of my life for the better; I now know life is heavily dependent on one’s own input and perspective. I went from believing I wouldn’t live to see my graduation to planning out my future classes for college. My life has never felt easy. My parents were Bosnian immigrants who constantly fought one another and took their despair out on me. My father set unrealistic expectations on me while my mother constantly complained about life. I was truly in a horrible place mentally when I entered junior high. I lost my free time and joy both at home and at school. My unexpected, little sister had just been born, and my parents had expected me to be her full time babysitter despite my lack of experience and education in the field. School began to feel like an unnecessary burden as my teachers sat me next to the most obnoxious students due to my good behavior. I started to push away my school friends subconsciously, and I grew bitter. Every moment I spent existing was a moment I spent wishing for a horrific accident to take me away from all of my stress and responsibilities. Each fight I had with my parents over my care-taking abilities and loud day at school only made these thoughts worse. I blamed my feelings and current situation purely on those around me. I thought as long as my environment stayed the same then nothing in life could change for the better. I remember the moment I finally realized how much my mental health was decaying. I was watching a group of my friends laughing amongst one another while I was sat alone, sulking. I knew none of their living situations were better than mine, so I questioned how they were keeping everything together. I questioned what was stopping me from joining in and laughing with them. I realized the only thing stopping me from enjoying the moment was myself. I was not the reason my parents yelled and hurt me. I was not the reason school failed me. However, I was the reason all of the little bit of free time I got was spent doing nothing. I spent all of that time wishing for a convenient death. I decided that I needed a change in my moody routine, so I looked into extracurricular activities. I thought that joining some sort of community or club would put me into an environment that encouraged healthy social interaction and friend making. I now specialize in the iPad drawing application, Procreate. While in high school, I joined the art club and entered my digital pieces into contests. During my senior year, I gold sealed in Texas’s largest high school art competition, The Visual Art Scholastic Event. I became successful artistically with academics to match; I ranked fifth in my class with a Grade point average slightly over one hundred. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will be incredibly hard work, but I know most of my future experience will be heavily dependent on how much I choose to invest in my life instead of in my death.

The idea of learning about different artistic softwares and applications in the upcoming fall has thrilled my mind for the past couple of months. I grew up watching the classic “Tom and Jerry” cartoons. The hilarious gags and bouncy action offered me an escape from stressful situations, and it gave me a more humorous perspective on life. I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment. I soon began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; the medium fascinated me, so I began researching. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind. A team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single beautiful episode. I knew that I wanted to be a part of that team in some way, so I became a digital artist. I now specialize in the iPad drawing application, Procreate. While in high school, I joined the art club and entered my digital pieces into contests. During my senior year, I gold sealed in Texas’s largest high school art competition, The Visual Art Scholastic Event. I became successful artistically with academics to match; I ranked fifth in my class with a Grade point average slightly over one hundred. Even with all that I have accomplished, there is still so much I have yet to learn. I am a master in Procreate, but I have barely touched any Adobe programs. Adobe Photoshop is what many people use for both illustration and animation; it may be an essential tool to making my cartoon dream a reality in a professional setting. I will soon have free access to all Adobe applications at my college, and I am ecstatic to become a master in all of them. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will be a lot of hard work, but I understand that I do not have to achieve all of this in one day. I will create an effective routine to break down all of my future problems and goals into manageable steps. I am excited to work and learn more in college, but I will not sacrifice my mind or body for blind positivity and wishful thinking.

I think math is important because of how much its formulaic process has influenced my real-world problem solving capabilities. The purpose of math is to find and prove the definite answers the universe keeps locked away. People mistake the entire nature of math to be very linear or black and white, so they discard its use in modern day problem solving. The answers math gives us may be very concrete, however, the problems that math tackles are incredibly gray. The purpose of humanity is to question and discover the world around them, and the mathematical process is one of the best tactics humanity has used to fulfill this purpose. It is easy to become overwhelmed in life when one has to constantly tackle complicated issues. Humanity is often blinded by what is considered a bigger picture; math has taught me to reflect and break a problem down into manageable steps. Whenever I was given an assignment by my calculus teacher, she would advise me to always look at the basic fundamentals and see their patterns. Integrals are able to measure area and undo derivatives, but they may only do so after they are put into a simple form. A greatest common factor should be looked for and taken out first to lessen any future arithmetic. A quick glance at the possible nested function inside the integral could quickly inform one of whether a U-substitution is required. The existence or nonexistence of bounds on the integral determines if a variable will appear in the final answer. These basic rules in the deconstruction of integrals sound difficult on paper, however, the noticeable repetition in the integrals solving process makes them manageable in practice. I did not rank number five during my senior year in Randall High School by having gifted intelligence; I achieved it by simplifying and memorizing my work processes. Similarly, when I begin a new art piece, I know there are certain checkpoints I must pass to achieve an eye-catching piece. My artwork must include good compositions, thought out shading, proper proportions, and carefully selected colors. Professional artists do not rely on the stereotypical concept of inspiration to produce their works nor are they held back by burnout. Professional artists weaponize an effective work style to their advantage. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will take a lot of work, but I do not have to do it all in one day. The work will be spread out and put into a routine, so I can continue to take it one step at a time.

I love math because of how much its formulaic process has influenced my real-world problem solving capabilities. It is easy to become overwhelmed in life when one has to constantly tackle complicated issues. Humanity is often blinded by what is considered a bigger picture; math has taught me to reflect and break a problem down into manageable steps. Whenever I was given an assignment by my calculus teacher, she would advise me to always look at the basic fundamentals and see their patterns. Integrals are able to measure area and undo derivatives, but they may only do so after they are put into a simple form. A greatest common factor should be looked for and taken out first to lessen any future arithmetic. A quick glance at the possible nested function inside the integral could quickly inform one of whether a U-substitution is required. The existence or nonexistence of bounds on the integral determines if a variable will appear in the final answer. These basic rules in the deconstruction of integrals sound difficult on paper, however, the noticeable repetition in the integrals solving process makes them manageable in practice. I did not rank number five during my senior year in Randall High School by having gifted intelligence; I achieved it by simplifying and memorizing my work processes. Similarly, when I begin a new art piece, I know there are certain checkpoints I must pass to achieve an eye-catching piece. My artworks must include good compositions, thought out shading, proper proportions, and carefully selected colors. Professional artists do not rely on the stereotypical concept of inspiration to produce their works nor are they held back by burnout. Professional artists weaponize an effective work style to their advantage. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will take a lot of work, but I do not have to do it all in one day. The work will be spread out and put into a routine, so I can continue to take it one step at a time.

My art teacher developed stage two breast cancer during my senior year of high school. She was the closest teacher I’ve ever had, and now she is a major part of my motivation to succeed financially in the art and animation industry. I specialize in the iPad drawing application, Procreate. While in my sophomore year of high school, I joined the art club that was hosted by my art teacher. I was too scared to approach her at first, but I really wanted to participate in VASE, The Visual Art Scholastic Event. I swallowed my fear and began asking her about the event. Not long after, I found myself working on the VASE art piece next to her during lunch. She would make casual conversation with the other students around her, and I started to join in on them. Unfortunately, my VASE artwork did not qualify for state. I was heartbroken by the news, but I was determined to do better. My art teacher suggested I join the new AP Studio Art class the next year to expand my skills; I was ecstatic that she valued my skills so highly, so I joined. During my junior year, I began entering my digital pieces into various contests under the encouragement of my art teacher. She would show up to the events and take pictures of me and my accomplishments. That year I qualified for state in the VASE competition, however, I didn’t make the gold seal in the second round of judging. That year ended in anticipation of what my senior year would hold if I continued this level of progression in my artistic ability. However, that blind joy was ripped away in November of my senior year. My art teacher gathered a group of close students together privately to reveal her recently diagnosed cancer and discuss the schedule for her chemotherapy treatments. The entire room cried, and soon we were all trying to accommodate and support her in any way we could. However, an emergency surgery made it so we could not physically see her for practically the rest of the year. My VASE piece that year focused on how important her iconic but now empty desk was to me. I gold sealed in VASE with that piece while she was gone but the achievement just felt empty without her. She congratulated me over text and expressed how proud she was of me. However, I knew that if she wasn’t sick then she would have been at the event with me. I would have physically seen her smiling, and that would have been enough for me. My art teacher is one of a kind woman, and she continues to motivate me through text and advice. While unable to physically be with her close art student, she would happily video chat with us and express her sorrows for missing such an important year for her students. Despite her sickness, she remains the same grounded individual I know and love. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will be incredibly hard, and it will take time. However, if I succeed then I will bring unbelievable joy to one of the most important people in my life.

My wildest dream is to be the creator behind an animated television show, and open the general public’s eyes to the potential of the medium’s storytelling abilities. I grew up watching the classic “Tom and Jerry” cartoons. The hilarious gags and bouncy action offered me an escape from stressful situations, and it gave me a more humorous perspective on life. I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment. I soon began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; the medium fascinated me, so I began researching. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind. A team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single beautiful episode. I knew that I wanted to be a part of that team in some way, so I became a digital artist. I now specialize in the iPad drawing application, Procreate. While in high school, I joined the art club and entered my digital pieces into contests. During my senior year, I gold sealed in Texas’s largest high school art competition, The Visual Art Scholastic Event. I became successful artistically with academics to match; I ranked fifth in my class with a Grade point average slightly over one hundred. My parents constantly pushed for me to enter the medical field, but I never found medicine interesting or fulfilling. What interested me was animation and how the general public’s perception of the medium is being changed. Many people nowadays are growing bored of Disney’s style of filmmaking; specifically, the target audience has become uninterested in the same old, childish, safe equation Disney continues to use. For example, Pixar’s recent release of the movie “Elemental” has bombed at the box office. Many people criticized the trailers for featuring a generic looking, forbidden love story, so many didn’t bother wasting their money on a predictable story. Meanwhile, Sony released “Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse” which has been universally praised for its mature themes, excellent storytelling, and groundbreaking animation. The movie wasn’t predictable; in fact, it ended on a cliffhanger that will later be resolved in the next film. There is an audience of teenagers and young adults who are starved for content, and there is not enough content targeting them; I want to be the one who creates that targeted content for them. I want to create a show that is story driven and shows the complexities of humanity. I want the animation to captivate people. I want to give people a reason to grab the television remote. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. The classes I will take for my graphic design major will introduce me to more commonly used and professional applications such as Adobe Photoshop. I already have experience with illustration, but I still need to learn how to edit, network, and the basics of any industry based job. It will be incredibly hard, and it will take time. However, if I succeed then the demands of the people will be met; my dream would be fulfilled.

I, Miana Bagavac, will be a highly ambitious, first generation, art student in the next few upcoming months. My parents are Bosnian-immigrants who moved to America to escape the aftermath of the Yugoslav war. They found humble jobs at Walmart and Tyson, and they have worked together to slowly raise three children. My mother works full-time as a sales associate, yet she manages to be a perfect housewife by doing both a majority of the cooking and cleaning. My father works the night shift as ‘clean-up’, and he often works overtime to bring extra money home. Despite all of that time-wasting stress however, they still managed to make a lasting imprint on the person I am today. My parents always pushed me to be better than them. They raised me to be disciplined, brutally honest, and an effective worker. They wanted me to achieve a higher level of education, so I could have more and better job opportunities than they were blessed with. However, I never felt like I could live up to that standard; it wasn’t until I found my interest in digital art, that I believed I could meet that expectation and still be more. I grew up watching the classic “Tom and Jerry” cartoons. The hilarious gags and bouncy action offered me an escape from stressful situations, and it gave me a more humorous perspective on life. I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment. I soon began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; the medium fascinated me, so I began researching. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind. A team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single beautiful episode. I knew that I wanted to be apart of that team in some way, so I became a digital artist. I now specialize in the iPad drawing application, Procreate. While in high school, I joined the art club and entered my digital pieces into contests. During my senior year, I gold sealed in Texas’s largest high school art competition, The Visual Art Scholastic Event. I became successful artistically with academics to match; I ranked fifth in my class with a Grade point average slightly over one hundred. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. The money offered from this scholarship would greatly lighten my financial stress as a student, and it would allow me to put more time into my art. I want to focus on networking my skills to possible future employers while in college, but I won’t be able to do that if I have to spend all my time working behind a counter to make tuition payment deadlines. A single year at WTAMU costs approximately twenty-thousand dollars, and I am planned to attend the next four years. I don’t want to be burdened with debt, and I don’t want my parents to feel concerned for my future. I want to expand my artistic abilities, and I want to prove to my parents that all of the effort they have put into me was worth something.

I plan to positively impact the world by captivating the minds of all generations through a career in the digital arts. My parents are Bosnian-immigrants who moved to America to escape the aftermath of the Yugoslav war. They found humble jobs at Walmart and Tyson, and they have worked together to slowly raise three children. My mother works full-time as a sales associate, yet she manages to be a perfect housewife by doing both a majority of the cooking and cleaning. My father works the night shift as ‘clean-up’, and he often works overtime to bring extra money home. They were and still are often consumed by the stress of all that work. This has negatively affected their performance as parents which has consequently, negatively affected the mental well beings of my siblings and me. Everyone in my family found a way to cope with all the mixed emotions and pressure; my parents watch Turkish dramas, my older brother plays video games, and my seven-year-old sister has begun excessively playing make-believe games. I found my comfort through watching the classic “Tom and Jerry” cartoons. The hilarious gags and bouncy action offered me an escape from my parents’ stressful lives, and it gave me a more humorous perspective on life. I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment. I soon began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; the medium fascinated me, so I began researching. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind. A team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single beautiful episode. Animation has also impacted many relationships in my life. A majority of my friends now have been made through the interest and understanding of art. My old-fashioned father loves the Pixar film “Coco” for its tasteful religious undertones and its focus on remembering those who have passed. The community built behind every western cartoon I’ve seen has been full of inspired teenagers and senior fan artists who eagerly engage with one another. This form of digital art has brought everyone closer to me, and I want to be able to give that sense of togetherness to someone else. Ever since I discovered my love for animated features, I have become determined to recreate and gift the comfort those old cartoons gave to me. I now specialize in the iPad drawing application, Procreate. While in high school, I joined the art club and entered my digital pieces into contests. During my senior year, I gold sealed in Texas’s largest high school art competition, The Visual Art Scholastic Event. I became successful artistically with academics to match; I ranked fifth in my class with a Grade point average slightly over one hundred. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. Animation has impacted my entire perspective on the world, and I want to find a position in the industry that will allow me to continue this cycle of positivity and comfort.

My desire for more and better job opportunities in art related faculties motivates me to combat gender disparity in Texas. Whenever a new scholarship focused on female workplace issues appears, the scholarship tends to openly favor women in STEM related fields above all else. All other faculties that stereotypically have more women in them are completely ignored. This is a problem because it ignores the many prominent issues women still experience in those “girlish” faculties. I graduated ranked fifth in my class with a grade point average slightly over one hundred. My parents pushed me to pursue the medical field, but I always heavily refused. My academic skills would allow me to explore any STEM-related job opportunity I wanted, but I never had any real interest in them. They would never push me beyond my limits or allow me to grow; they could never bring me fulfillment. I grew up watching classic “Tom and Jerry” cartoons, and I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment. A simple cartoon offered me an escape from my parents’ stressful lives, and it gave me a more humorous perspective on life. As I grew, I began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; I wondered what went behind the production of one twenty-minute episode, and so I began doing research and studying the medium. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind; a team of different types of artists, each with a different background, all working together for months just to create a single episode. In that moment of research, I knew I wanted a job focused in the digital arts. The animation and art industry is full of primarily female artists, but many of them are never chosen for more powerful and higher-up positions. Instead, they are worked to the bone to meet outrageous deadlines under threat of contract. Art does not require brute upper body strength; Art requires business intelligence, technical skills, and audience-reading capabilities. Those necessary skills are not only found in men, but many unconsciously ignore that. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. Through use of my future degree, I hope to create a piece that captivates and entertains people the same way different cartoons did for me growing up. However, the only way to do that is to become a female artist in a prominent position in what is already a competitive industry.

The main way I will manage my personal wellness while attending college is by finding solutions to all of my current unhealthy habits. During high school, I sacrificed sleep and food in exchange for finished work. I babysat my little sister after school, so I didn’t have the time or concentration to get homework done in a timely manner. I skipped lunches and dinners when crunching to reach a deadline. My body suffered, but my grades were consistently good. However, I realized this stressful method would not work in the long run when I began falling asleep during the day. I began sleeping during class and while babysitting, and I felt sick and sluggish whenever I was awake. I never told my parents; I always felt like they would hurt me more than help me. One day, I couldn’t keep myself awake at night to finish my math homework; I had too much sleep debt. It was that night I decided it wouldn’t hurt to consider myself a priority once. I slept for the entire night. When I woke up, my homework didn’t feel as difficult to finish as it did all of the past sleepless nights before. That little night of good rest bettered my entire work-flow for that day. I realized my problem wasn’t a lack of time, it was how I chose to manage that time. It is possible to eat, sleep, babysit, work, and relax in the span of twenty-four hours; I just never realized that before. All I needed was a set routine and a few boundaries. I set a new life goal for myself: “Only stay awake if you absolutely need to, sleep as much during the night as you can.” I negotiated with my parents to babysit less so I could have more time to work during the day. If I didn’t finish an assignment before bed, I would save it for the morning. Slowly, my consistently good grades became consistently great, stress-free grades. I recently graduated ranked fifth in my class with recognition for my art skills. I will begin attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall as a graphic design major. I will live on campus and have six classes for my first semester. I plan to find a part-time job and open up art commissions to help pay off my large, upcoming student debt. While at university, I plan to build an online audience for my art and create professional portfolios for future job applications. It will be a lot of work, but I extremely determined to succeed in a healthy manner. I am still learning how to improve myself both mentally and physically. I know the importance of consistent sleep now, but I still need to learn the importance of consistently healthy eating, drinking water, and working out. Luckily, my best friend and future roommate has offered to help me become more active. I have more than enough time to figure out my entire life, I just have to keep managing that time above all else.

I want to explore all job options that fall under the umbrella of digital art while in college. I grew up watching classic “Tom and Jerry” cartoons, and I slowly fell in love with animation as a medium for entertainment. A simple cartoon offered me an escape from my parents’ stress as Bosnian immigrants living in America, and it gave me a more humorous perspective on life. As I grew up, I began watching more cartoons with diverse styles and movements; I wondered what went behind the production of one twenty-minute episode, and so I began doing research and studying the medium. The work that went into crafting a simple moving picture blew my mind; a team of different types of artists all working together for months just to create a single episode. This behind the scenes look gave me a reasonable challenge to work towards with my art. I specialize in the iPad drawing application, Procreate. While in high school, I joined the art club and entered my digital pieces into contests. During my senior year, I gold sealed in Texas’s largest high school art competition, The Visual Art Scholastic Event. I became successful artisticly but also academically; I ranked fifth in my class with a Grade point average slightly over one hundred. My parents pushed me to pursue the medical field, but I always heavily refused. My academic skills allow me to explore more STEM-related job opportunities, but I never had any real interest in them. They would never push me beyond my limits or allow me to grow; they could never bring me fulfillment, only a job in the digital arts could. I believe finding a job that resembles the process of animation in any shape or form will bring my life fulfillment. If I could create a piece that captivates and entertains people the same way different cartoons did for me, I would be completely satisfied with my entire existence. I will be attending West Texas A&M University in the upcoming fall. I plan to major in graphic design and start building an online audience for my artworks through various websites and applications. I will organize my pieces into professional digital portfolios targeted for specific jobs such as Character Designer or Storyboard Artist. I will also most likely open commissions while in college to help pay off my upcoming student debt. No matter what, I will continue creating pieces to exhibit both quantity and quality. I am determined to make my name known in the art world for my efficiency and creativity. It will not be easy, and it will take time. I only hope that attending university will provide me valuable lessons and tips from those who have already worked in the art field. I will research, work, and study for as long as I have to. However, I will find that fulfillment.

My journey with mental health has shaped every facet of my life for the better; I now know life is heavily dependent on one’s own input and perspective. I went from believing I wouldn’t live to see my graduation to now planning how I want to build an online art portfolio for college. My life has felt never easy. My parents were Bosnian immigrants who constantly fought one another and took their despair out on me. My father set unrealistic expectations on me while my mother constantly complained about life. My first suicidal thought came at the age of five. Despite all of this, my younger self still had a fulfilling childhood. I was truly in a horrible place mentally when I entered junior high. I lost my free time and joy both at home and at school. My unexpected, little sister had just been born, and my parents had expected me to be her full-time babysitter despite my lack of experience and education in the field. School began to feel like an unnecessary burden as my teachers sat me next to the most obnoxious students due to my good behavior. I started to push away my school friends subconsciously, and I grew bitter. Every moment I spent existing was a moment I spent wishing for a horrific accident to take me away from all of my stress and responsibilities. Each fight I had with my parents over my care-taking abilities and loud day at school only made these thoughts worse. I blamed my feelings and current situation purely on those around me. I thought as long as my environment stayed the same then nothing in life could change for the better. I remember the moment I finally realized how much my mental health was decaying. I was watching a group of my friends laughing amongst one another while I was sat alone, sulking. I knew none of their living situations were better than mine, so I questioned how they were keeping everything together. I questioned what was stopping me from joining in and laughing with them. I then realized the only thing stopping me from enjoying the moment was myself. I was not the reason my parent yelled and hurt me. I was not the reason school failed me emotionally. However, I was the reason all of the little bit of free time I got was spent doing nothing. I never took the time when I was younger to reflect on what I could do to build a good life. I spent all of that time wishing for a convenient death. Everyone around me found an escape from those intrusive thoughts through extracurricular activities, so I decided to do the same. When the pandemic hit my first year in high school, I decided to take my newly found free time to reflect upon what I wanted from life. I always had an interest in art but was discouraged from making it into a career by my parents. However, I was never the most obedient child. I opened an instagram account and used it as an excuse to build my art skills; I did at least one drawing everyday with pencil and ink. This had lasted almost three-hundred days before my second year at high school had overtaken me with work. My academic career greatly improve along with my artistic abilities. I had joined the art club and began competing in various competitions. After a few failures, I began placing in competitions and made a few new friends.The art club had introduced me to a miniature community of people who shared my same interests and struggles. School suddenly had meaning to me. I no longer focused solely on my grades, I focused on the people around me. During this era of new friendships, I also reevaluated how I treated my old friends and my little sister. I didn’t want my past bitter perspective on life to spoil the relationships I had already made. I started setting time aside to hang out with those I cared for the most and explained my emotions to them. I wanted them to know how much they meant to me, and remind them that I would not be who I am today if I did not learn from their examples. I wanted to be that positive example for my little sister. I didn’t interact with one of my best friends for an entire year in junior high, and now I am going to be her college roommate. I will be attending West Texas A&M University as a graphic design major. I plan to create an online art portfolio to find possible job opportunities in the animation industry. I graduated from Randall High School ranked fifth in my class. I gold sealed in the Visual Art Scholastic Event, the biggest high school art competition in Texas. My high school art and academic career was a massive success, and now I hope my future art career will be the same. I still watch over my sister, but I limit any interaction with my parents. I have grown closer to almost all of old friends, and I hope to be open to making more in the future. If I have a chance later in life, then I hope to go to a therapist to better help my inner turmoil. I don’t want to die anymore, I want to keep living.