Unfamiliar territory, this is not something that I have always been open to. In the past, stepping outside my comfort zone took everything I had; the adults just didn’t get it. They thought that maybe I just needed a little push. Sure, push me right out into that big wave that is supposed to take me back to shore. I say this in the literal sense.

I remember that day far too well. The overall consensus was that since my Brother loved the ocean, I should love the ocean too. It had been such a big deal to everyone for such a long time. I heard over and over again that if I just got out there I would like it. At this point, I wanted to like it just so everyone would leave me alone. As I am holding onto this piece of foam, terrified, waiting for the right wave, I decided I had to break it to everyone. When my Dad brought me to shore I told him that “he and my Brother were the ‘water people,’ I like to be creative with the things I do.” I don’t think that is what he wanted to hear, but he heard it, and that was all that mattered.

My Mom has always referred to me as the “creative one”. If I had my choice to play baseball or create a website, I would pick the website. I didn’t understand then why this was so difficult for people to understand, but now it is very clear. It was not that they did not understand, but it was because opening their mind to something that was outside the norm was stepping into their own unfamiliar territory.

Through these experiences, along with many others, I have come to realize that it is sometimes the discomfort that has led me to my best decisions. I have been able to determine the direction I want to go, and learning from others mistakes, the direction I don’t want to go. I can’t say that I know what I want to be when I grow up, but I do have an idea of the path I’d like to take.

My entire life I have been raised with just the dreams of being successful. I have always strived to be successful and be the best that I could be, but there has always been something standing in the way. I have been followed with the grueling financial issues plaguing our world, family relationships being cut short, and various medical issues that have caused me to struggle in school. But no matter what has gotten in my path, I have always tried to find a way to overcome it. My first piece, “Dream to Reality,” displays a silhouette of a man sitting alone by a tree. It conveys how I felt; alone and trying to fend for myself. Creating artwork gives me an opportunity to just sit down, relax, and focus on something other than a stressful lifestyle.