Though I've been drawing my whole life, I never really took much interest in it until I got deeply into Anime. I started off small with two season Shojos here and there then eventually worked my way up to watching great epics like the complete Naruto series, which is about 923 episodes and ongoing. During the year I locked myself away watching Naruto I fell in love with the art style and the detailed stories of someone with every odd imaginable stacked against them working hard to create the life they always dreamt of while maintaining their integrity and going the distance for the people they love.

As a plus-sized woman of color with practically no family (besides my dad and two good friends) who was drowning in debt and shackled to a dead-end job - It resonated with me on every possible level. I saw the spirit of myself and many people I knew in the characters Kishimoto brought to life in Naruto. The unreal odds stacked against you that Shonen protagonists face isn't much different than the mountains you have to move as a black human to have a certain quality of life. Especially in America. Then I had a thought: Why aren't there any stories like this with people who actually look like me?

In a sense I began to see myself as a Shonen protagonist. How can I train hard to change my circumstances and mold my life on my terms? How can I shift my state of existence to be happiness focused and not be in a cycle of survival mode and being numb? I would go on to think hard about these questions for three years.

After completing Naruto, I got an ipad and taught myself to draw digitally (a whole other beast than traditional drawing) and in time I became more skilled at it which caused others to start taking notice. I began selling art prints at events and doing commissioned artwork for people (music covers, logos, flyers, etc) and started realizing that something I was doing because it was a peaceful activity to me is something I can actually make a living off of. It continued that way for about two 1/2 years but I wasn't in a place in my life at any point in that journey to even consider doing my art full time until now.

I had three significant life changes occur in 2020 that made it pretty clear to me that you don't have much time to waste in this life. Do what you can to be a good human, cherish the people that cherish you, if things aren't bearing fruit and you've gave it all the nurturing you can- maybe it's time to move on, And the biggest lesson being if I don't bet on myself and give my art, Spicy Anime (something I feel g-d genuinely called me to do) everything I have then what am I actually doing with my life?

June 14th, 2021 I decided to dedicate myself to being a full time artist - doing commissions, vending, and working on my light novel, My Homeboy, the Prince which will be the first anime I will produce under Spicy Anime when the time is right.

I believe the work I do with Spicy Anime brings me mental, spiritual and financial freedom for sure but more importantly I think it brings that feeling of "being seen and actually heard" to other black kids out there as well. Visibility is so important and I want children of color to be able to experience the same "Aha" feeling I had when watching Naruto for the first time on a regular basis. To have the same "I can live fearlessly with gusto and chase my dreams" realization as early as possible in a way that feels closer to home- that feels real.