As someone who grew up in the arts, I have come to recognize the importance of art and creativity in shaping my worldview. The arts have enabled me to better empathize with others and think beyond what is currently in front of me. Creativity lends a huge hand in critical thinking, which comes into play in any work industry and facet of life. Through collaborating with The Creative Process, I am gaining experience in curating, which I have been greatly interested in since working at the Hammer Museum during my first year of college. I also hope that this collaboration will strengthen my relationship with art and enable me to work with and learn from peers and professionals in the industry.  

The current situation has made me, as well as many others, reflect on the ways in which our society has been built to advantage and disadvantage various groups of people. While there are many things I hope to see in the future, I think one of my main wishes is that the current events with both the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased awareness of Black Lives Matter and related movements will not exist in isolation. This period has revealed many faults in our society and policies and I hope that the emotion, passion, and curiosity people are expressing now will result in tangible change that we can see in the near future. Making this a reality will not come from just wishing, but will only come from active efforts taken by individuals to unlearn misconceptions and prejudices and educate themselves on histories scarcely taught in schools, and it is encouraging to me to see more people realizing this and enacting change in the ways that they are able.

Last semester, I took a film photography class, which was my first formal experience with photography. Since being home, I have been working to strengthen my photography skills by documenting the changing relationships I have been observing between my family members and also between myself and my current environment. I hope to expand my practice by gaining experience in artistic projects that go beyond my previous practices, particularly working in curating a project. Since I will not be back on campus for the upcoming semester, I recently started planning a collective project I can work on remotely with local artists in Los Angeles during my time here. 
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