I’ve always been somewhat of an outlier in my family. From the moment my family heard I was going to be a girl, my existence was established as entirely different. At the time, my parents had no plans for another child. With two boys, one 17 years old and one 12, the family dynamic was already well established, and my mom believed sons would be the only children she would ever raise. At that point, with one kid already making his way towards adulthood, it didn’t seem like any big changes were going to occur. My parents and their two boys were their family, a pretty concrete thing, until I became a brand new addition. The day my parents and my oldest brother learned I was going to be a girl, they all cried - for no apparent reason except for the possibility that a new chapter was starting. 

I have vague here-and-there memories of my earliest years, that starting chapter. I was born in Palm Springs and stayed there until I was three years old. I spent my time either being watched by my godparents or living in a house on Sterling Avenue, where my parents woke up to feed me in the middle of the night, where they stuffed me into my first halloween costume, where my brothers would change my diapers when they were home on the weekends. The only memory I have there is of me walking outside with my dad in a pink jacket to pick at the rocks right outside our door. My parents tell me I was always fascinated with them, and would spend minutes staring at them with curious eyes. My curiosity continued months later, almost tipping over the side of a cruise ship to stare at the water, and spotting dolphins with my dad. I had a sense of wonder as a toddler that was honorably unashamed, one I still carry with me now. 

Since then, I have spent my life cherishing creation, deeply moved and inspired by art - in what I witness, watch, read, and hear. I created a charcoal sketch inspired by the instrumentals of Jim Croce songs. I wrote a poem inspired by the depth of Frodo’s character from Lord of the Rings. When I missed England, I picked up a brush and painted a landscape of the Alexandra Gardens. When I missed the past, I picked up my guitar and learned how to fingerpick a song from my childhood. When I felt hopeless about moving, I grabbed a pen and engraved my sorrows onto a journal, writing a love letter to my home. I work through every obstacle in my life by discovering new reaches of my creativity. Creation is what drives my soul to push forward, and I am determined to grow in creativity and discover the reach of my passions.