I could not be without creating. 

It has followed me for as long as I can remember. As a child, It built intricately decorated cardboard-box forts with me and my imaginary friends. Creativity rode in the backpack I carried to middle school art club, and attended every one of my high school theatre competitions without fail. I have thought I  was in love with almost every art form there is; but then I found fashion, my affair with creativity found its true match. 

I always loved playing dress up. In fact, some of my most fond memories are of my favorite childhood pastime, making “gowns” for myself from my grandmother's rundown wash-rags; which were actually just fraying squares of terrycloth cut from towels once they had been stained by years of hair dye and cooking oil. Back then, I was so convinced that once I wore those patchwork monstrosities, I was no longer myself, but the princess/cowgirl/warrior/wizard my young imagination was desperately convinced I'd grow up to be. In my eyes, every rusted safety pin was a Swarovski brooch; and self-expression became a comfort to me. 

Fashion isn't just clothing; it's an art form and can serve as a comfort. Coming from someone who has experienced firsthand how a person's physical self-expression can change them in such a positive and drastic way, I feel as though I owe it to fashion to express my appreciation in every way I can. Fashion design has such a unique way to relay statements on larger topics, utilizing people as walking billboards for change. The way in which a shirt can also be a statement on politics, religion, race relations, tell the story of a certain culture or inanimate object or simply be a well crafted garment is nothing short of magic. It's the closest I can get to being that princess/cowgirl/warrior/wizard I wanted to be. 

 That same creativity that I bonded with as a child still follows me. I don't think I'll ever escape it. I will always create; I have no choice but to.