For a majority of my life, I’ve loved to draw. It’s always amazed me how much can go into a single piece of artwork, the use of line, color, shapes, and more that come together to visualize a person's thoughts and emotions. As a result, the arts have played a significant role in helping me cope with my anxiety and depression throughout my childhood. As a kid, I didn’t have access to professional help for my mental health, so creating art was my only outlet. Drawing and appreciating art of all kinds has helped me make sense of my emotions that I didn’t quite understand as a child. I didn't realize it at the time but this adoration for art was going to have a significant influence on my future. This love for the arts became what I was known for at school. I was the kid who would draw at school any chance I got. I’d finish assignments quickly so I’d have free time in class to draw and doodle in notebook pages frequently. I was fortunate enough to have teachers that embraced this passion rather than punish me for it. In fact, during my sophomore year of high school, I was given the opportunity to participate in a statewide film festival regarding suicide prevention. Drawing from my own experiences with mental health as well as some outside research, I dedicated roughly a month to script and animate a short film on my own. Having the opportunity to work on this film provided me with an outlet to express some of my personal struggles as well as bring awareness to my community about the importance of mental health. In addition, seeing other contest entries helped me feel less alone in my struggles with these feelings. This project opened my eyes to the significance the arts have in our society: Artists sharing their skills to voice their own stories and struggles. In sharing, others can learn and relate to, which brings us closer as a community. I knew this was what I wanted to pursue. With my art, I hope to contribute to a world where people feel less alone in their struggles with mental health. I want to create art that can inspire people to learn about mental health as well as seek out help in their struggles. Animation nowadays isn’t afraid to shed light on topics like mental health and trauma which has been inspiring to me in my endeavors. By pursuing a career in this area, I hope to be able to lend my voice and skills to bring awareness to such topics as well. A dream of mine is to create an animated show that touches on topics of mental health to raise awareness and educate people on these issues. This is why I intend to study animation in college. Here I am now, pursuing these dreams at CSUF, which is an opportunity I am extremely grateful to have. With this opportunity I hope to be able to move forward in my career and create a better future not only for me, but for others who have struggled as I have.

As a child, nothing could compare to the joy I felt watching Disney movies. These stories of trial and triumph resonated with me and became a comfort to me throughout my childhood and even more so today. To think there are people with the ability to create these characters and give them life through animation was magic to me. From then on, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I asked my mom for some paper and colored pencils; the rest was history. It was magical making marks on paper, and watching them connect and create forms. I felt powerful in a sense. I imagined this was how Walt Disney himself felt creating Mickey Mouse. For the rest of my childhood, I drew day after day and continued to grow. I loved learning and growing with every artwork, but at times my efforts felt lackluster. As I exposed myself to the vast world of art, my amateur cartoons didn't seem impressive compared to all the talented, successful artists around the world. I began to feel less confident in myself as an artist. For a while, I was afraid to express my creativity out of fear of ridicule. However, I started to regain my confidence thanks to my ninth-grade English teacher, Mr. Pascasio. Our assignment was to create a short film that served as a PSA for a problem in our community. I decided to make an animation because I felt uncomfortable acting on camera for the whole class to see. When it was time to present our projects in class, I was shaking. To my surprise, my teacher and peers were impressed by my film. Hearing everyone's positive comments made me feel validated and inspired me to embrace that part of me more often. Taking that risk brought new opportunities my way. In my sophomore year, Mr. Pascasio informed me of a statewide film festival regarding suicide prevention. I dedicated roughly a month to storyboard, animate, and record for this project on my own. It only managed to win fifth place but this artistic venture was a push in the right direction for me. This endeavor helped me remember why I'm so passionate about art and animation in the first place: I want to reach people and leave a positive impact on them with art. I strongly believe that art and media can leave a significant impact on people and I want to help them find solace in art and animation just like Disney movies have done for me. In my junior year, I created an animated film about sexual assault to encourage victims to speak up about their experiences. In my senior year, I put together an animatic for my school's website regarding the importance of mental health which brought awareness to resources for those in need of help. With each new project, I once again felt the same excitement I did as a child. Each project was an opportunity for me to gain knowledge and hone my skills, while also contributing to my community. Looking back on the timid freshman I was, I'm glad I gained the courage to express my creativity in class. With the opportunities given to me, I was able to ignite my passion for art and find a purpose. I am proud of my progress, but there will always be more to learn. This is why I am studying animation in college. I want to positively impact people with my work just like Disney did for me in my childhood and will do whatever it takes to reach this dream.

During my youth, art has helped me in expressing what I wasn’t able to when I was younger. I didn't know it at the time but the tie between art and mental health was going to become a significant part of my future. In my sophomore year of high school, I was given the opportunity to participate in a statewide film festival regarding suicide prevention. Drawing from my own experiences with mental health as well as some outside research, I dedicated roughly a month to script and animate a short film on my own. Having the opportunity to work on this film provided me with an outlet to express some of my struggles as well as bring awareness to my community about the importance of mental health. In addition, seeing other contest entries helped me feel less alone in my struggles with these feelings. This project opened my eyes to the significance the arts can have to help a cause: artists sharing their skills to voice their own stories and struggles. In sharing, others can learn and relate to our work, which brings us closer as a community. From this experience, I was able to apply my interests to a cause I care strongly about. With my art, I hope to contribute to a world where people feel less alone in their mental health battles. Through art, I also hope to inspire the change I wish to make in the world: raising awareness for the topic of mental health. Animation nowadays isn’t afraid to shed light on topics like mental health and trauma which is inspiring to me. Being able to use my skills to educate others on a topic that is important to me gives me a sense of purpose. My dream is to be able to contribute to a world where mental health is taken seriously and we aren’t shamed for needing help or struggling; as well as a world where services for those who need help are more accessible.

For a majority of my life, I’ve loved to draw. It’s always amazed me how much can go into a single piece of artwork, the use of line, color, shapes, and more that come together to visualize a person's thoughts and emotions. As a result, the arts have played a significant role in helping me cope with my anxiety and depression throughout my childhood. As a kid, I didn’t have access to professional help for my mental health, so creating art was my only outlet. Drawing and appreciating art of all kinds has helped me make sense of my emotions that I didn’t quite understand as a child. I didn't realize it at the time but this adoration for art was going to have a significant influence on my future. This love for the arts became what I was known for at school. I was the kid who would draw at school any chance I got. I’d finish assignments quickly so I’d have free time in class to draw and doodle in notebook pages frequently. I was fortunate enough to have teachers that embraced this passion rather than punish me for it. In fact, during my sophomore year of high school, I was given the opportunity to participate in a statewide film festival regarding suicide prevention. Drawing from my own experiences with mental health as well as some outside research, I dedicated roughly a month to script and animate a short film on my own. Having the opportunity to work on this film provided me with an outlet to express some of my personal struggles as well as bring awareness to my community about the importance of mental health. In addition, seeing other contest entries helped me feel less alone in my struggles with these feelings. This project opened my eyes to the significance the arts have in our society: Artists sharing their skills to voice their own stories and struggles. In sharing, others can learn and relate to, which brings us closer as a community. From then on, I knew this was what I wanted to pursue. With my art, I hope to contribute to a world where people feel less alone in their struggles with mental health. I want to create art that can inspire people to learn about mental health as well as seek out help in their struggles. Animation nowadays isn’t afraid to shed light on topics like mental health and trauma which has been inspiring to me in my endeavors. By pursuing a career in this area, I hope to be able to lend my voice and skills to bring awareness to such topics as well. A dream of mine is to create an animated show that touches on topics of mental health to raise awareness and educate people on these issues. This is why I intend to study animation in college. Here I am now, pursuing these dreams at CSU Fullerton, which is an opportunity I am extremely grateful to have. With this opportunity I hope to be able to move forward in my career and create a better future not only for me, but for others who have struggled as I have.

As someone who has struggled with mental health throughout their life, I want to use my art in ways to both help those who are also struggling and bring attention to the importance of mental health. The piece I am submitting is a short animated PSA I created myself for a contest in order to bring attention to the topic of suicide prevention. This film is about three years old now and not reflective of the quality of work I can produce now, but it’s still something that means a lot to me. This piece is what keeps me inspired to pursue art. I look back at this film whenever I feel I am at my lowest. It reminds me that despite how bad things may be, I have a future I have to keep working towards. Working on this project opened my eyes to what I can do with art to spread an important message to an audience, which is something I want to continue doing in my future. This is what I want to achieve through my art, by using a visual medium to educate but also tell stories that people can relate to and find comfort in.

Throughout my life, the arts have been a guide in my journey of becoming a bolder person and my search for purpose. For me, being an artist means challenging myself and breaking free of my comfort zone. In my youth, Disney films always left me in awe. These stories of trial and triumph resonated with me and became a comfort to me throughout my childhood. The lessons learned from these stories are some I carry with me to this day. To think people had the ability to create these characters and give them life through animation; it was magical to me. I always knew I wanted to be part of something as special as these films someday. As an untaught child, my art wasn't exceptional by any means, but I felt accomplished tracing characters together to create my own scenes. It was exhilarating making marks on paper, watching them connect and create forms. Doing so made my little six-year-old self feel powerful. For the rest of my childhood, I would draw day after day until I had no use for tracing. However, there was a time when I kept my art to myself. Growing up, I was a shy kid due to elementary school bullies. I was always quiet and felt I had to shrink myself to avoid being a target. By extension, I was afraid to showcase my art out of fear I'd be bullied for it too. It wasn't until my freshman year of high school that I started to gain confidence in sharing my art as well as in myself. It began with an assignment to create a short film that served as a PSA for a problem in our community. I chose to make my project an animated short on pollution. I felt I could do more visually through this medium. When it came time to view everyone's projects in class, I was extremely nervous. I was only a beginner, so my film was choppily animated and the art was far from amazing. This only increased my fear of ridicule. To my surprise, the class was impressed by my film. My worries faded as I saw how well-received my project was by my peers. Hearing everyone's positive comments instilled confidence in me. This moment opened the door to more artistic opportunities for me. In my sophomore year of high school, I was given the chance to participate in the Directing Change Program and Film Contest; a program that aimed to educate on mental health and suicide prevention through the art of film. I dedicated roughly a month to script and animate this project on my own. I only managed to win fifth place but this endeavor pushed me in the right direction. This project helped me find the courage to express myself and be confident in showing my work to an audience. This opportunity also opened my eyes to what I can do with my art to help others. I saw value in creating art that entertains as well as educates on serious topics, such as mental health. Looking back on the timid freshman I was, I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone by sharing my work in class. Thanks to the arts, I have been lucky to become a more confident person and found value in using my art as a way to help people learn and heal. I intend to pursue art in a way that can help people who are struggling by providing joy, as well as valuable lessons, much like Disney films did for me in my youth.