It was the summer of 2008. I had just finished 6th grade. I was relaxing on the couch watching TV, when I overheard my mom talking with my aunt, who was visiting for the weekend. They are both into photography. They were talking about how they edit their photos and my aunt asks, “Did you use Photoshop or iPhoto?” I sat there—puzzled. I went up to them and asked, “What’s Photoshop?” My aunt, studying to get her graphic design degree, mentioned it is an application that allows you to edit your photos. Having my question answered, I went back upstairs.

A few days later, the thought of Photoshop popped back in my head. I had to know more. What can it do? Where can I get it? I jumped on the computer and looked it up. As I typed the words into the search engine, my curiosity increased with every keystroke. Spending days, no, weeks, researching the fantastic product. Finally—I decided to buy it. For three years, I learned about the basics of photo editing. I was making abstract desktop backgrounds and basics things with the brush tool. I would run around and show people the things I have made because I was proud of my accomplishment. But I felt like it wasn’t enough.

The summer before freshman year of high school, I finally saved up and purchased the full version of Photoshop. In the beginning, I learned how to make backgrounds for my computer and other basic things, but my skills grew quickly by spending time on YouTube, watching videos about Photoshop. After sophomore year, my concentration changed from desktop wallpapers and self-created images to photo-manipulations. That is where multiple images are combined to create a surrealistic space that may or may not be able to ever exist. Doing that allowed me to learn more about design and Photoshop. And by learning and sharing my art, I got recognized by people, which in turn, got me jobs to create designs for websites, and advertisements. That only made me want to be a Graphic Designer even more.

Growing as an artist made me realize that art is something to be created not just for yourself, but for everyone. That being said, what I will bring to the campus is art, for everyone to see and enjoy, everyday.