When I was little, I loved to make pictures and stories up on my head.

Art was a way of learning about the world through role-playing and imagination, and it was great.

Like most kids growing up, I had a hard time fitting in, especially through the awkward years of being a teenager. It was difficult relating to others and even myself at times. Art took a new role in this phase of my life: it became my way of escaping into a world where I was accepted. The creatures and worlds in my mind were my friends, and a way of finding an identity that was ok with others, even if they were only a figment of my imagination.

As I went through school and entered the big people world, something became apparent to me: We all have experiences and phases of our lives that build us into the individuals that we are. What those experiences are in exact detail are what make us unique. The fact that we all share these experiences in the same way, through stories, is what make us all the same.

What was my way of escaping had become something that I realized could be used to relate to and help others. Getting to this point in my life has been just that, a series of stories, just like everyone else on this planet. What I try to do now is communicate these ideas and events through my work, ones that I hope others can relate to in some small way.

I cannot choose whether to grow old or not, but I can choose whether to grow up or not. I choose to remain the child and learn as much as I can.