As a teenage girl in a black household, mental health support has never been a top priority or something that was paid attention to as I grew up. I wish to change that as an artist and character designer to contribute to a possible tv show that shows a healthy black household that cares about mental illness in their children and does more than pray or yell at their kid. Growing up I felt that I couldn't speak my mind about how I was feeling or how I may have been struggling mentally and it resulted in me having many issues that still have yet to be taken into account today. So if I can normalize mental health issues in the black community by showing it in children's media I'll make sure to spread the message as far as possible.

In college I want to major in art, focusing on animation and character design. When I graduate I want to work in character design for cartoons, video games, or movies and if possible all three. However, this specific area of work is dominated by white men and I want to be an inspiration to other black girls that have a love for the art that surrounds pop culture. I wish to bring more diversity and representation into the media to inspire others like me. My main focus is to work with video game companies like Epic Games, Blizzard, take-two Interactive, and Ubisoft. Until recently most video games don’t have much diversity within characters and I want to play a part in furthering the addition of more games with the representation of many different cultures apart from my own, including different Native cultures across the world, Hijabi, South Asian, African, etcetera. I feel representation in media is very important to show those who are underrepresented a character in a game in which they can see themselves in. However, I wish to explore more than my passion for character design or the development of games, shows, and movies. I want to show how art can change people and help them express themselves. What I adore most about art is how it affects others. It’s fascinating how much an art piece can inspire, empower, disturb, or comfort the viewer. Whether it be impressionism, surrealism, renaissance, romanticism or digital the artist of the piece can convey a range of thoughts, ideas, and emotions through every stroke. The most appealing aspect is how a different story can be told through a piece depending on how a person interprets its contents. No matter the person there will always be a piece of art that speaks to them emotionally whether it be the simplest of abstract art or a highly rendered oil painting. Artistry is a universal language that anyone can interpret and share. Art is my main passion and I do not wish to explore any other possible career. I'm determined to reach my goals in this field and refuse to stray to anything that may be easier. No other career path could bring me the joy and fulfillment that art would, and I say that with the utmost confidence. This is what I've done for my whole life so far and I want to continue to until I can no longer hold a pencil.