Currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, I am pursuing a career in writing and digital media, though I am unsure where that will lead for the time being. I do know that I have been possessed by a lifelong love of words, and their ability to capture and evoke such a range of emotion. I have devoured books ever since I was a child, haunted by the worlds and characters within for days afterwards. I know in my heart of hearts that the inspiration a good story brings me is one I want to chase and deliver to others, whether it be through a novel, a video game, or even a short film.
I have lived in Asheville for a little over two years, and I am happy to say that it has become my home. Mountains climbing into the sky everywhere you turn is a far cry from the flat plains of Dallas, Texas. I lived there my whole life up until 2019. When I got on a plane for Asheville for the first time, I didn’t know that I wouldn’t be returning until over a year later. In that year, I had one of the most transformative experiences a person can have. I subjected myself to two therapeutic programs after facing a severe downturn in my mental health my second year of college. I had to face gut wrenching truths and parts of myself that I thought I had buried long ago. I had to make fires with a foraged bow and bark stripped from trees. I had to learn how to live again. In the end, I emerged transformed.
Some have questioned my desire to be so public about my experiences, but I can’t imagine keeping it to myself. It is an integral part of who I am today. In my 24th year of life I don’t see the point in being anything but honest with myself about who I am. I am still discovering the new me, day by day, and one of the main ways I do so is through writing. I have always been better at writing down my thoughts and feelings rather than speaking them aloud. So now, with this portfolio, I hope to offer some inspiration to others and perhaps find out more about myself along the way.
