“I’m always told that I'm very mature for my age, and I believe that it's because I am a CODA (Child of Deaf Adult). Having to be the interpreter for my parents while I was young taught me a lot of things and having to be mature was one of them. Whenever my mom would take me to her friends’ house there was always an age gap between me and their child(ren)...

I never really enjoyed playing with the younger kids because it wasn't fun for me, I wanted to sit and talk with the older kids. I felt more comfortable and accepted in their crowd, even though I was very young compared to them. One thing I really appreciate about Liberty is the awareness we have for mental health. I never would have thought that something so small like the two minute pauses would be so beneficial for someone, let alone even be a thing that happens at school. Liberty has definitely helped me become more independent, in touch, and at peace with myself. This school has really taught me the importance of mindfulness and for that I will always be grateful. I hope that for future graduating classes, these practices that are offered can help them too. I’ve always had a big passion for the arts, ever since I could pick up a pencil. I remember drawing so many little doodles in kindergarten and first grade, they were always drawings of me and my family. I didn’t start getting serious about my art until 3rd grade. I pushed myself to learn as much as I could, whether it was from youtube tutorials or from drawing books that i picked up in the library, I always wanted to know how i could do better. I’m still like this. I observe as much as I can. Studying the anatomy of animals or humans, staring at a tree for 5 minutes because I want to know how the leaves look when they are blowing in the wind, inspecting things from as many angles as I can, saving thousands of pictures on my phone as references. I'm not sure what I want to do in the future. I hop around a lot, from wanting to be a vet, to wanting to be a tattoo artist, to not wanting to be anything at all besides myself. I’m very indecisive and exploring for the right career.”