My story starts off in San Diego, California where I was born December 7th, 1995 weighing in almost 9 pounds. I lived in San Diego for the firs 12 years of my life and everything considered, I think that the location has influenced my life in a positive way. Both of my parents immigrated here when they were 19 years and arrived to the United States with nothing other than what the wore and in hopes of becoming something better than what their native country had to offer. My two sisters and I were born into poverty and although we were exposed to the violence and gang activity that you usually see in low income Hispanic communities , are parents love and guidance kept us away from being involved in that. Around the age of ten I became intrigued with the idea of graffiti. People might see this as a negative influence on a child, but I am thankful that I was introduced to this art form because it was graffiti that sparked my love for art and made me eventually want to peruse a career as an adult. I am happy to say that I have never vandalized any form of property because from the start it was the art that intrigued me. After my parent saved up a good amount of money they decide to buy a house in Nampa, Idaho because the weren't so expensive and because other family members had moved there. Idaho was also a great experience and it was during my senior year in high school that I decided to come to Portland to study. All through middle school and most of high school loved to do art, but I saw it as just a hobby. I have an unconditional love for my parents because coming from where they came from and getting to where they are has always been proof how much they loved us. When I started high school I believed that I had to get a job where the pay was good so I enrolled in an engineering program offered at my school. If you look at the other tabs on this site you can see that the work is centered more around electrical engineering. I finished the program my senior year with straight A's and I was offered a scholarship to help pay for college at Boise State University , but some thing in me told me to do what I loved to do and that was art. Part of the reason why I did the engineering course was because I also liked tech, so I decide to do something that combined both and that was graphic design. In art terms I think that big cities are where the biggest diversity and opportunity to grow as an artist are, so I decide to attend Portland State University. I still had a little doubt when I came here, but after this school year I can say that I am now more sure than ever in doing what I love and that is art!