art has been a massive part of my life ever since i could
close my fist around a crayon. throughout my childhood i was constantly drawing
and observing the world around me. i've always sat on the sidelines and
watched, and thought, and learned. i admire the beauty of street lamps and
store signs, of speckled pigeons and tree-cast shadows, of the droopy-eyed
woman with hair like a ginger cloud. i see a world with a potential for
incredible beauty. but i also see a world that needs some serious fixing. i’m
not yet entirely certain how, but i want to be a part of that fix.
i want to create media in which people can see themselves—their best selves. i want to create media that reflect back a world better than our own. i want television shows about the people so often erased by media. i want shows about black lesbians in wheelchairs and autistic transgender indian girls. i want shows that give voices to the unheard, that don’t limit representation as if it is a zero-sum game where diversity costs some unseen ‘points’ and you can only spend so many. (“why is she disabled and black? isn’t that a bit much?”)
i can’t yet say what my path will be. i can’t say if i would be successful in such endeavors. i’ve never attempted any sort of large project. i always find myself overwhelmed with the details and minutiae. but i want to make a change. i want to provide means of being heard to the silenced. i don’t just want to make myself better; i want to do something that will make other people want to be better, too.
i want to create media in which people can see themselves—their best selves. i want to create media that reflect back a world better than our own. i want television shows about the people so often erased by media. i want shows about black lesbians in wheelchairs and autistic transgender indian girls. i want shows that give voices to the unheard, that don’t limit representation as if it is a zero-sum game where diversity costs some unseen ‘points’ and you can only spend so many. (“why is she disabled and black? isn’t that a bit much?”)
i can’t yet say what my path will be. i can’t say if i would be successful in such endeavors. i’ve never attempted any sort of large project. i always find myself overwhelmed with the details and minutiae. but i want to make a change. i want to provide means of being heard to the silenced. i don’t just want to make myself better; i want to do something that will make other people want to be better, too.
