About
I am a 21-year-old student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, majoring in Theater Arts and Art & Design: Games and Playable Media. Every time I share that, the first question people ask is always, "Why? What's the connection?" I suppose I can understand the confusion—the two are certainly very different—but at their core, both share the same goal: telling stories.
With theater, this is obvious. It’s one of the oldest forms of storytelling. Video games, however, present more of an argument. Sure, you’ve got the more story-oriented games like the Legend of Zelda or Xenoblade Chronicles, but not every game is an RPG. Yet even Mario is trying to save Princess Peach. Even Pac-Man is hungry. Even Tetris tells a story of success and failure.
I am not here to become an actor. I am not here to become a game designer. I am here to build the foundations of a career where I can breathe life into the stories that have woven themselves into the very fiber of my being.
Versatility
I have dozens of interests, and I suspect that by the time I've settled into my career I'll have dozens more. I pick things up quickly, particularly when they manage to catch my attention. I learn best by doing, and achieve what's asked of me well so long as it is clearly explained. I can be rather stubborn, but I've overall learned to use it to my advantage, and it works very well when I need to set up a jury-rig. I distinctly remember a time in high school when I needed a video recorded, but no one was available to help me with it. Determined nonetheless, I tied my phone to a vent. I got my video!
I'm happiest when I'm being creative, and enjoy drawing and music, though my favorite forms of art are writing and game design. This is ultimately what I hope to do with my life—to achieve a career in the game design industry, and write fantasy novels with my free time.
Interests
As with most things in my life, the through-line of my hobbies is stories. Dungeons & Dragons, video games, reading, and many forms of arts and crafts all have this in common. Cooking isn't even that much of an outlier—it may not tell that deep of a story in and of itself, but it allows me to feel as if I am within one of my stories for a period of time. Beyond that, the joy of creating something is one of the best feelings in the world.
I currently have two active D&D games, one which I run and one in which I'm a player, and a few more in the works. I have been playing consistently since I first started in 2016, and I don't intend to stop anytime soon.
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My favorite video games are The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Really any Zelda game's fun, honestly. Aside from Zelda, I also like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley
