b. 1994, Minnesota, United States

I believe that for someone to truly connect to your art, an artist has to be willing to be vulnerable.

What has formed me into the artist I am today?

I was a creative, wild, curious kid who loved writing short stories, making handmade collages, doodling turtles everywhere, as well as directing and writing in my own productions.

Like many children, I remember dreaming of being an astronaut because whenever I looked at the night sky, I felt awe.  I wanted to see the universe, but once I vocalized that dream, a loved one told me my eyes weren’t good enough. Despite NASA never administering me an eye exam, I shrugged in reluctance, and figured they knew best. I probably couldn't have handled the heights anyway, I told myself for years to come.

Then, for many years, I fixated on being a veterinarian, but ultimately decided this was a no-go, because while I do adore animals and would love a job working with animals daily, there's just no way my heart could handle the goodbyes. My career of choice later evolved to creative writer. I loved the freedom it gave me, as I often struggled vocalizing my feelings. It was a way for me to create anything out of just words.

As a high schooler, I was posting poetry to the OG Facebook Notes giving the complicated feelings I was having comparisons to erupting volcanoes. I took every opportunity I could to write. For most of my high school career, I was on staff for my school newspaper, writing editorials and goofy opinions on the latest trends. During my senior year, I was the managing editor, designing and editing every page. Instead of sports, I found community and thrived on my high school’s competitive speech team, competing under a category of creative expression, which means it’s an original story. The scripts I wrote were always complicated themes involving loss and devastation, with the triumph to overcome. One speech in particular was about a widow who had lost her husband in the 9/11 towers. I won first place at our Big 9 regional completion with that speech. Because I loved that story so much, I spent that summer evolving it into a short play. I held tryouts, casting calls, made programs, and marketed it by letting my city newspaper know. The play was even featured in the 10-year anniversary edition of the Mankato Free Press.

Two of the speeches I wrote during my 4 years on the team (including the 9/11 piece) were eventually published with Mushroom Cloud Press, allowing competitive speakers in interpretation categories to perform it. To my disbelief, it’s still being performed today.

Creativity is where I thrived. Not just with writing, but in all ways. I wanted to put my hands in every creative medium there was, whether that be singing, writing, performing, art to simply decorating my bedroom. Despite the evidence stacking up that I had the creative chops to make it, I believed the opinions of others and let my passion become a thing I had to squeeze time for by following a trail those ahead paved for me. Coming from a long line of military members, I enlisted in the Army, as an active duty firefighter.