The story behind the storyteller

So here’s a brief rundown. In the late 90s and early 2000s, I was obsessed with a late-night television block airing on Cartoon Network called Toonami. (That isn’t to say I didn’t watch other cartoons on that network or beyond. Danny Phantom, The Fairly OddParents, Hey Arnold!, Dexter’s Laboratory, The Wild Thornberrys, Codename: Kids Next Door, Kim Possible, Recess, SpongeBob… Well, you get it, I hope.) Toonami stole my heart and my mind, as it exposed me to a form of animated storytelling that resonated deep within me. Shows like Dragon Ball Z, Rurouni Kenshin, Inuyasha, Naruto and others forced me to feel the epic journeys of 2-D characters with more depth than some of the “real-life” humans I interacted with on the daily. Fast forward to 2004, I fell in love with a manga called One Piece. I read every volume I could find in libraries (yes, a real place, Gen Z) and book fairs, as my parents didn’t want to give me money for comic books. From there I consumed a plethora of fictional stories from a wide range of genres, reading whenever I had free time. That stopped when I left high school at 17. Now I’m 33.

So what happened in those 16 years? Well, I’d love to say “life took its toll,” but unfortunately I think the truth is darker than that. I allowed my true self, the self imbued with passion and a yearning for storytelling, to slowly fade into the background of my consciousness and convinced myself the only way to “success” was to sacrifice the things that brought me maximum joy.

No longer.

I am grateful for the time I spent experiencing life through a new lens. Today, I have a Bachelor of Arts in English, a Master of Arts in Media and Communication, and, funny enough? The things that bring me joy in life have not changed. A good story.

The goal now is not to reclaim any lost time; I don’t believe in that. I believe my experiences have molded me and I am blessed to have escaped the rigors of young adulthood with my dreams intact. Which brings me to my ultimate purpose.

What does it mean to “Break free of conventional thought”? Well, the answer isn’t easy, but I do believe it’s simple. Simply put, we are moving into a world that desperately needs dreamers. We need innovators who will be able to break the mold and trailblaze new pathways in this new age we have entered. And I believe those people are me, and you.

That being said, words are cheap. This was supposed to be a short snippet of who I am, but I dipped into a stream of consciousness and felt compelled to write it out.

This is my covenant to you. I will not let the dream die. I don’t have the answers, but I promise to be willing to learn, be transparent, and hopefully inspire you to pursue your own passions. Because the truth is, this world needs it. Hope to see you on this journey.