At 15, I wanted nothing more than to go to art school. I always had this feeling in my chest (a joy, a sadness, a leaking bursting) that I felt I could only ever convey through art. But, of course, when you turn 17 and that paralyzing fear of life inevitably hits you, you go to UChicago, get a BS in Computer Science, and then get a job in a big tech company. And then at 22, when you’ve finally learned to chase those fears away, you pause, take stock, and apply to a Creative Coding immersive because it marries your two loves: the first natural one of art and the second, learned one of coding.

Though it took a few years of struggling in college, I now find joy in coding, and still attempt to find art in every moment. My subjects are clouds in strange shapes, the way the light hits moving leaves, and the people I love with a fierce, childlike-devotion. I try to capture these images however I can — a camera, a half-baked sketch on a napkin, or just praying that they’ll be committed to memory.