My love of art. I like to say I was born with a pen and a sketchbook in my hands, because I can't remember a day when I wasn't drawing. I was blessed enough to be part of an artistic family, with a mother who only encouraged me in my endeavors, and so my desire for creating was never impeded; I grew up surrounded by every sort of art and craft supply imaginable, allowing me to experiment with all sorts of materials and discover limitless possibilities at an early age. From this, I've learned to dream big and work hard to achieve my goals, to make fruit from my ideas, and to never be afraid to try something new. For me, even the sky is no limit.
My love of design. When I was in kindergarten, I would always sit at the circle table with the tub of Crayola markers and draw clothes: clothes in a closet, clothes on hangars, clothes on people. Back then, I would tell everybody that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up; even if they didn't ask me, I would volunteer the information. Back then I didn't know that there was more than one kind of artist, and it wasn't until 7th grade that I learned there was a profession for me: fashion designer. At that moment, my hobby became a lifestyle for me, and I decided to give it my all to better my skills and talents in every aspect of my art. Since then, I've learned a lot to find out who I am as an artist and designer, and what kind of clothing I would like to make.
My love of writing. Growing up, my mother would always read books to my brothers and I, and the stories I remember the best were the ones she wrote herself to make us laugh. Out of all of us, I believe it struck me the most, and so I was the one scribbling in notebooks as young as elementary school. The phrase that describes someone as "devouring books" also applied to me: if I wasn't drawing, I could be found with my head burrowed between the pages of some sort of book. This has not left me through the years either: through later years of school, English classes were always easiest for me and my favorites (I'm pretty sure I was the only student who liked essays), and through them I've improved my writing skills and found encouragement in yet another career choice as an author.
My love of crochet. One of the many crafts introduced to me when I was younger was crochet. My mother gave me my first hook--a H/8-5.00mm that I still have to this day--and taught me the few things she knew: how to chain and single crochet, but I grew frustrated because I wasn't able to make anything except endless rows and rows (sometimes, I would tell people I was crocheting a scarf, but really it wasn't) and eventually shoved my yarn and hook in some corner for many years. It was only in recent years that I rediscovered them, fueling a new interest that led me to learn new stitches and patterns, obtain new sizes of hooks, more yarn, and eventually--make my own, original creations. It is now one of my favorite ways to relax and/or to just have fun.
My love of cooking. Since my mom has worked in a restaurant and thus cooked there everyday for the better part of 15 years, us kids learned to make our own grub as soon as we reached that whiny, teenager age. At the time, I didn't enjoy it, as I'm sure most wouldn't--after all, why cook when Mom can do it for you? But as time passed, my love for trying new things and making new things inevitably carried over even into the kitchen. I've grown to love the challenge of attempting a new recipe, and fine-tuning each step over time. And the best part? Eating the results, of course!
My love of gardening. I discovered the incredible feeling of being a part of making things grow when I decided to get seriously involved in the yard work the summer after I'd graduated. At the time, I was unemployed and wasn't actively looking for a job, and I found myself spending the majority of my time outside ripping up weeds (and a lot of times, my hands). Through this, I began to enjoy the daily connection with life and God's wonders. Since then, every year I try to grow something new, and love seeing what unfolds every time.
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