The biggest obstacle I faced was completing my senior year of high school. Since 8th grade, I was always an AP and Honors student, choosing the most difficult classes and maintaining a consistent transcript full of A’s. While my previous courses were tough and required extra work, I usually stayed on top of my grades without much stress. However, my senior year ended up being the most brutal school year of my life due to my packed class schedule. My senior year started like any school year; I attended my classes every day, completed the homework and projects assigned to us, and studied for tests. However, one of the hiccups I noticed in the first weeks of the school year was that I struggled to understand the material in my AP Calculus class. I did not stress about it too much, since I always had some difficulty understanding math and thought I would better understand the course over time. However, that belief was quickly challenged once we took our first quiz in class. I do not remember the exact grade of the quiz, but I do remember looking at Infinite Campus and being filled with disappointment after seeing my class grade drop from an A to a C after receiving a D-level score. That quiz made me extremely stressed out, I felt like I was not meeting my high expectations for myself and would leave my parents disappointed. My stress did not stop at Calculus, however, since I was also receiving an intense amount of homework from classes such as Japanese III and AP English IV. All of these factors combined to create an intense feeling of paranoia of falling behind and failing. My mental health ended up taking a downturn during the first month of school. I spent lunch breaks that should have been spent relaxing doing homework and studying, I felt demotivated every time I went to Calculus, and started to break down into tears during class due to all of my stress. Eventually, my parents noticed that I was not doing well and sat me down to discuss what was happening. After explaining my struggles, they reassured me that it was okay that I was struggling and that as long as I was doing my best in class, that was all that mattered. They also suggested that I avoid working during lunch so I could give my brain time to reset and talk to my counselor and teachers about my stress. Everyone I went to for advice understood my struggles that year and suggested I try to stick things out and maintain a schedule that allowed me to stay on top of school without being burnt out. From that point on, I did just as my parents, counselor, and teachers said, sticking to a schedule and avoiding burning myself out. I went to tutoring sessions for the classes I was struggling in and even changed a few parts of my schedule during the second semester to reduce my stress. While I still struggled to maintain a perfect transcript that year, receiving a C for my Calculus class by the time I graduated, I was still able to graduate and transfer to Chandler-Gilbert Community College with the President’s Scholarship. After the 2022-2023 school year, I learned how to better manage my time and know my limits in terms of work. To anyone else facing similar struggles, I would also suggest finding and maintaining a schedule that fits your needs. I would also encourage decreasing your workload or schedule if possible to avoid burnout.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in the world of art. Specifically, drawing has been a consistent hobby throughout my entire life. As a toddler, I would always be grabbing scrap pieces of paper and crayons and drawing whatever piqued my interest at the moment. From people I knew in real life, to characters in shows and movies I loved, and even clothing I designed, I would always be drawing. My love for drawing would continue to the present day, evolving from a mere hobby to a form of personal study starting around sixth grade. As I grew older, I began to realize that drawing was my biggest passion in life and something I wanted to pursue as a career. I remember starting to put more effort into my art when I was about twelve years old in sixth grade. During that time, I became fascinated with Japanese culture, specifically anime and manga. The art style used in these forms of media captivated me as a kid and was a style I wanted to replicate as a kid. I specifically remember being heavily inspired by the series Sailor Moon and wanting to create characters like the ones created by the manga’s original illustrator, Naoko Takeuchi. Fueled by the inspiration I had received from all of my exposure to these media, I began to focus on improving my art and trying to push my style toward an anime aesthetic. I would spend hours of my free time creating characters and drawing them in various scenarios. Most of my time drawing was spent self-studying through how-to-draw books I got as presents from my parents or through looking up tutorials online from various artists I admired such as Haley Newsome; also known as LavenderTowne. While most of my studying was personal, I did spend a semester of my senior year taking an art and design class which helped me achieve a better understanding of colors, shading, and anatomy. During my time studying art, I started to form an appreciation for those who worked full-time as artists. All of the artists I looked up to appeared to share the same passion I did for art and were constantly working hard to make their work the best it could be. Most of the artists I looked up to tended to have some sort of online presence, which allowed me to see more of the inner workings of the art world and how these artists would operate. Their platforms made me realize how complex the life of an illustrator could be, from being an independent freelance artist working through commissions to being an artist working under huge corporations in areas such as concept or promotional art. The free range of options I was presented within the art world gave me a sense of freedom I was looking for in a job, influencing me to study and become an illustrator in college. My hope as an illustrator is to work on a variety of projects and be able to bring my vision into each of these projects. To reach these dreams, I plan on studying all I can about art and illustration to become the best artist I can be for these jobs.

The biggest obstacle I faced was completing my senior year of high school. Since 8th grade, I was always an AP and Honors student, choosing the most difficult classes and maintaining a consistent transcript full of A’s. While my previous courses were tough and required extra work, I usually stayed on top of my grades without much stress. However, my senior year ended up being the most brutal school year of my life due to my packed class schedule. My senior year started like any school year; I attended my classes every day, completed the homework and projects assigned to us, and studied for tests. However, one of the hiccups I noticed in the first weeks of the school year was that I struggled to understand the material in my AP Calculus class. I did not stress about it too much, since I always had some difficulty understanding math and thought I would better understand the course over time. However, that belief was quickly challenged once we took our first quiz in class. I do not remember the exact grade of the quiz, but I do remember looking at Infinite Campus and being filled with disappointment after seeing my class grade drop from an A to a C after receiving a D-level score. That quiz made me extremely stressed out, I felt like I was not meeting my high expectations for myself and would leave my parents disappointed. My stress did not stop at Calculus, however, since I was also receiving an intense amount of homework from classes such as Japanese III and AP English IV. All of these factors combined together to create an intense feeling of paranoia of falling behind and failing. My mental health ended up taking a downturn during the first month of school. I spent lunch breaks that should have been spent relaxing doing homework and studying, I felt demotivated every time I went to Calculus, and started to break down into tears during class due to all of my stress. Eventually, my parents noticed that I was not doing well and sat me down to discuss what was happening. After explaining my struggles, they reassured me that it was okay that I was struggling and that as long as I was doing my best in class, that was all that mattered. They also suggested that I avoid working during lunch so I could give my brain time to reset and talk to my counselor and teachers about my stress. Everyone I went to for advice understood my struggles that year and suggested I try to stick things out and maintain a schedule that allowed me to stay on top of school without being burnt out. From that point on, I did just as my parents, counselor, and teachers said, sticking to a schedule and avoiding burning myself out. I went to tutoring sessions for the classes I was struggling in and even changed a few parts of my schedule during the second semester to reduce my stress. While I still struggled to maintain a perfect transcript that year, receiving a C for my Calculus class by the time I graduated, I was still able to graduate and transfer to Chandler-Gilbert Community College with the President’s Scholarship. After the 2022-2023 school year, I learned how to better manage my time and know my limits in terms of work. Without the lessons in time management I learned in my senior year, I might have faced a similar issue during my first year at CGCC.

The biggest obstacle I faced was completing my senior year of high school. Since 8th grade, I was always an AP and Honors student, choosing the most difficult classes and maintaining a consistent transcript full of A’s. While my previous courses were tough and required extra work, I usually stayed on top of my grades without much stress. However, my senior year ended up being the most brutal school year of my life due to my packed class schedule. My senior year started like any school year; I attended my classes every day, completed the homework and projects assigned to us, and studied for tests. However, one of the hiccups I noticed in the first weeks of the school year was that I struggled to understand the material in my AP Calculus class. I did not stress about it too much, since I always had some difficulty understanding math and thought I would better understand the course over time. However, that belief was quickly challenged once we took our first quiz in class. I do not remember the exact grade of the quiz, but I do remember looking at Infinite Campus and being filled with disappointment after seeing my class grade drop from an A to a C after receiving a D-level score. That quiz made me extremely stressed out, I felt like I was not meeting my high expectations for myself and would leave my parents disappointed. My stress did not stop at Calculus, however, since I was also receiving an intense amount of homework from classes such as Japanese III and AP English IV. All of these factors combined together to create an intense feeling of paranoia of falling behind and failing. My mental health ended up taking a downturn during the first month of school. I spent lunch breaks that should have been spent relaxing doing homework and studying, I felt demotivated every time I went to Calculus, and started to break down into tears during class due to all of my stress. Eventually, my parents noticed that I was not doing well and sat me down to discuss what was happening. After explaining my struggles, they reassured me that it was okay that I was struggling and that as long as I was doing my best in class, that was all that mattered. They also suggested that I avoid working during lunch so I could give my brain time to reset and talk to my counselor and teachers about my stress. Everyone I went to for advice understood my struggles that year and suggested I try to stick things out and maintain a schedule that allowed me to stay on top of school without being burnt out. From that point on, I did just as my parents, counselor, and teachers said, sticking to a schedule and avoiding burning myself out. I went to tutoring sessions for the classes I was struggling in and even changed a few parts of my schedule during the second semester to reduce my stress. While I still struggled to maintain a perfect transcript that year, receiving a C for my Calculus class by the time I graduated, I was still able to graduate and transfer to Chandler-Gilbert Community College with the President’s Scholarship. After the 2022-2023 school year, I learned how to better manage my time and know my limits in terms of work. Without the lessons in time management I learned in my senior year, I might have faced a similar issue during my first year at CGCC.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in the world of art. Specifically, drawing has been a consistent hobby throughout my entire life. As a toddler, I would always be grabbing scrap pieces of paper and crayons and drawing whatever piqued my interest at the moment. From people I knew in real life, to characters in shows and movies I loved, and even clothing I designed, I would always be drawing. My love for drawing would continue to the present day, evolving from a mere hobby to a form of personal study starting around sixth grade. As I grew older, I began to realize that drawing was my biggest passion in life and something I wanted to pursue as a career. I remember starting to put more effort into my art when I was about twelve years old in sixth grade. During that period of time, I became fascinated with Japanese culture, specifically anime and manga. The art style used in these forms of media captivated me as a kid and was a style I wanted to replicate as a kid. I specifically remember being heavily inspired by the series Sailor Moon and wanting to create characters like the ones created by the manga’s original illustrator, Naoko Takeuchi. Fueled by the inspiration I had received from all of my exposure to these media, I began to focus on improving my art and trying to push my style toward an anime aesthetic. I would spend hours of my free time creating characters and drawing them in various scenarios. Most of my time drawing was spent self-studying through how-to-draw books I got as presents from my parents or through looking up tutorials online from various artists I admired such as Haley Newsome; also known as LavenderTowne. While most of my studying was personal, I did spend a semester of my senior year taking an art and design class which helped me achieve a better understanding of colors, shading, and anatomy. During my time studying art, I started to form an appreciation for those who worked full-time as artists. All of the artists I looked up to appeared to share the same passion I did for art and were constantly working hard to make their work the best it could be. Most of the artists I looked up to tended to have some sort of online presence, which allowed me to see more of the inner workings of the art world and how these artists would operate. Their platforms made me realize how complex the life of an illustrator could be, from being an independent freelance artist working through commissions to being an artist working under huge corporations in areas such as concept or promotional art. The free range of options I was presented within the art world gave me a sense of freedom I was looking for in a job, influencing me to study and become an illustrator in college. My hope as an illustrator is to work on a variety of projects and be able to bring my vision into each of these projects. To reach these dreams, I plan on studying all I can about art and illustration to become the best artist I can be for these jobs.

As an artist, I am inspired by everything surrounding me in my daily life. Even if I do not realize it at first, I tend to find inspiration in random moments of my life. I could be talking with my friends and generating an idea for an illustration out of a random joke or comment one of us said. I might be relaxing at home and suddenly become inspired to draw whatever I was doing at the moment. I could be listening to music in the car or at home and want to illustrate scenes based on the characters or stories depicted in said songs. I may be watching a show or playing a game and start to draw characters from said media, especially if I become attached to them. I could also be looking through the work fellow artists have posted online and gain the urge to draw simply because they have inspired or motivated me to improve my artistic skills. No matter what I draw, I always have some sort of inspiration deriving from my daily life to influence my work. Without allowing myself to be inspired by the world and the various people and things surrounding it, I may have never found my spark to draw in the first place.

Since elementary school, I have always been a hardworking student. Whenever I was given an assignment or task, I would prioritize it and ensure I completed it to the best of my ability. I am highly detail-oriented, always double-checking my work to ensure accuracy and polish it to the best of my abilities. Throughout the week, you will usually find me either in class or studying for countless hours in my bedroom, usually to the point of making my parents knock at my door to encourage me to take a break. Outside of my studies, my favorite pastime is drawing. I have always enjoyed drawing from a young age and have spent most of my life as a self-taught artist outside a few art classes during middle school and high school. Besides art, I also enjoy listening to music and playing video games, two hobbies that have greatly influenced my artistic journey. Currently, I am pursuing an associate degree in Illustration and Sequential Arts at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. While my art skills have seen great improvement through my self-studies, I am still seeking out ways to improve my skills. By studying art at CGCC, I will be able to study under professional artists and learn how to hone my illustration skills through their teachings. After completing my associate's, I will transfer to Arizona State University to complete my bachelor's degree in Illustration and Sequential Arts, helping me reach my dream job of being a professional illustrator. Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to live in a household where my parents could cover any expenses we experience in life. From groceries to school supplies, my parents have consistently provided everything we needed to live a comfortable life. However, even with our financial security, we are still worried about paying for college and know that we can not pay for everything out of pocket. To deal with the impending financial need, I have been applying for scholarships since Junior Year in hopes of winning some money for college. As of now, I have been awarded scholarships through Chandler-Gilbert Community College and MG Properties but still plan on applying to as many as I can in hopes of earning more money for school supplies and for when I transfer to Arizona State University. Thanks to my high grades, my parents are certain that I can earn a scholarship from whatever school I apply to for financial aid. However, I’m still applying for other scholarships to decrease the amount we need to pay out of pocket.

As an artist, I am inspired by everything surrounding me in my daily life. Even if I do not realize it at first, I tend to find inspiration in random moments of my life. I could be talking with my friends and generating an idea for an illustration out of a random joke or comment one of us said. I might be relaxing at home and suddenly become inspired to draw whatever I was doing at the moment. I could be listening to music in the car or at home and want to illustrate scenes based on the characters or stories depicted in said songs. I may be watching a show or playing a game and start to draw characters from said media, especially if I become attached to them. I could also be looking through the work fellow artists have posted online and gain the urge to draw simply because they have inspired or motivated me to improve my artistic skills. No matter what I draw, I always have some sort of inspiration deriving from my daily life to influence my work. Without allowing myself to be inspired by the world and the various people and things surrounding it, I may have never found my spark to draw in the first place.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in the world of art. I remember starting to put more effort into my art when I was about twelve years old in sixth grade. During that period, I was becoming fascinated with Japanese culture, specifically anime and manga. The art style used in these forms of media captivated me as a kid and was a style I wanted to replicate as a kid. I specifically remember being heavily inspired by the series Sailor Moon and wanting to create characters like the ones created by the manga’s original illustrator, Naoko Takeuchi. Fueled by the inspiration I had received from all of my exposure to these media, I began to focus on improving my art and trying to push my style toward an anime aesthetic. I would spend hours of my free time creating characters and drawing them in various scenarios. Most of my time drawing was spent as self-studying through how-to-draw books I got as presents from my parents or through looking up tutorials online from various artists I admired such as Haley Newsome; also known as LavenderTowne. While most of my studying was personal, I did spend a semester of my senior year taking an art and design class which helped me achieve a better understanding of colors, shading, and anatomy. Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to live in a household where my parents could cover any expenses we experience in life. From groceries to school supplies, my parents have consistently provided everything we needed to live a comfortable life. However, even with our financial security, we are still worried about paying for college and know that we can’t pay for everything out of pocket. To deal with the impending financial need, I have been applying for scholarships since Junior Year in hopes of winning some money for college. As of now, I have been pre-approved for the President’s Honors Scholarship through Chandler-Gilbert Community College and was awarded the Julie Hurst and Steve Peters Scholarship but still plan on applying to as many scholarships as I can in hopes of earning more money for school supplies and for when I transfer to Arizona State University. Thanks to my high grades, my parents are certain that I can earn a scholarship from whatever school I apply to for financial aid. However, I’m still applying for other scholarships to decrease the amount we need to pay out of pocket. We’ve also been notified by the U.S. Department of Education that I may qualify for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program for $5,500.00 after submitting my FAFSA in December. I’ve also been contacted by CGCC to inform me that I won’t be eligible for any of the Federal Pell Grant Funds, so scholarships are an even bigger need to save money for college.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in the world of art. Specifically, drawing has been a consistent hobby throughout my entire life. As a toddler, I would always be grabbing scrap pieces of paper and crayons and drawing whatever piqued my interest at the moment. From people I knew in real life, to characters in shows and movies I loved, and even clothing I designed, I would always be drawing. My love for drawing would continue on to the present day, evolving from a mere hobby to a form of personal study starting around sixth grade. As I grew older, I began to realize that drawing was my biggest passion in life and something I wanted to pursue as a career. I remember starting to put more effort into my art when I was about twelve years old in sixth grade. During that period of time, I was becoming fascinated with Japanese culture, specifically anime and manga. The art style used in these forms of media captivated me as a kid and was a style I wanted to replicate as a kid. I specifically remember being heavily inspired by the series Sailor Moon and wanting to create characters like the ones created by the manga’s original illustrator, Naoko Takeuchi. Fueled by the inspiration I had received from all of my exposure to these media, I began to focus on improving my art and trying to push my style toward an anime aesthetic. I would spend hours of my free time creating characters and drawing them in various scenarios. Most of my time drawing was spent self-studying through how-to-draw books I got as presents from my parents or through looking up tutorials online from various artists I admired such as Haley Newsome; also known as LavenderTowne. While most of my studying was personal, I did spend a semester of my senior year taking an art and design class which helped me achieve a better understanding of colors, shading, and anatomy. During my time studying art, I started to form an appreciation for those who worked full-time as artists. All of the artists I looked up to appeared to share the same passion I did for art and were constantly working hard to make their work the best it could be. Most of the artists I looked up to tended to have some sort of online presence, which allowed me to see more of the inner workings of the art world and how these artists would operate. Their platforms made me realize how complex the life of an illustrator could be, from being an independent freelance artist working through commissions to being an artist working under huge corporations in areas such as a concept or promotional art. The free range of options I was presented with in the art world gave me a sense of freedom I was looking for in a job, influencing me to study and become an illustrator in college. My hope as an illustrator is to work on a variety of projects and be able to bring my own vision into each of these projects. To reach these dreams, I plan on studying all I can about art and illustration to become the best artists I can be for these jobs.