I grew up in the formative years of my life moving from state to state, all told, 5 by the time I was 6. I developed my social skills in the wake of having to make an entire new set of friends in a new place nearly every year until we settled in the suburbs of Atlanta in 1998. I am thankful for the experience as it introduced me to far more people than most at a young age and provided me the tools to understand and get along with people well. This was further supplemented by years of aftercare programs as both of my parents would work well into the evening. This allowed me to find my own path in terms of what entertained me, what my goals were, and to form an individual worldview separate from theirs, which came with separate interests and hobbies.
I moved to the city to start college in 2010 and was immediately swept into the music and arts scenes, meeting many southern punks, painters, gallery owners, graffiti artists, etc. – this was not my first encounter with any subculture, but my most thorough and immersive experience of my young life. While an experience in and of itself to be involved with the music and people of that time, it was clear that some aspects of the nihilistic lifestyle I was seeing was rife with its own problems and shortcomings, and I started to stray away into more focused territory – groups of peers focused on a DIY experimental music scene that helped to form a better grip on finding a purpose. Some of these people would become lifelong friends and I will always be thankful for the art and music that we have made together, as well as the lessons we learned along the way.
This is simply one example of what has been a driving force in my life since I was young – to find out what appeals to me, to find people to partake in it with and build community, and to subvert the traditional structures of achieving success within it. This has happened in my life with music, as mentioned above, with organizing street art and mural conferences, with my current career path, and all sorts of passions, hobbies, and interests along the way.
I will always be thankful for the art and music that we have made together, as well as the lessons we learned along the way.
Most urgently, in regards to current events, I have been lucky enough to find myself within dedicated circles of activism through this ethos over the past several years that have taught me some of the most important lessons I have learned in understanding the systems of power in our world, and above all, as I move forward, I am committed to studying the flaws of the structures that frame our lives and to critique said structures in the long battle for human rights for all.