Danielle Brown

During a time when I was feeling especially low, a wiser older man told me a story that picked me up and it still resonates with me today. I went to him for advice because I was struggling with obstacles in my life that prevented me from doing life's work.

"On occasion I would carpool with one of my friends when we went back home. My friend would always stopped at another local university to pick up his friend and his friend's girlfriend. People on campus did not really have a strong taste for her because she wore exotic clothing, dressed up all the time, made herself known wherever she went, and told people that she was going to be famous someday. In fact, that was all she ever talked about. On a daily basis she would remind people that she was going to live in Hollywood someday with all the celebrities. After a while, people began to dismiss her comments and would just nod their heads in disbelief. Well, this "weird girl," is actually the famous actress, Meryl Streep. I often think about the way people treated her in college and if they knew what they knew now, would they would have acted differently?"

This personal account was truly inspiring to me and I share it with people frequently. As an artist, I have always followed my own path, often teetering on the edge. I find myself questioning life and people all the time. Constantly, I am in this battle between society's cultural demands and what my inner voice tells me to do. I see people that look like and act like clones of other people. This makes me question, where is the uniqueness? Throughout the years, I have learned that I cannot compare myself to others because we all have different walks in life. My ultimate goal is to let my voice be known, whether its through writing, art, or the spoken word. Primarily I work visually, but I have always written since I was a young child. There are times when I am full of inspirations and times when I am lacking it. Usually, I just go with the f