by Brandyn Cross

My desire to create comes from the inspiration that I take from life. No one and nothing is promised, so be sure to find inspiration, joy, and fulfillment from within yourself. I have been creating for years now -  11 years to be exact. I am a people person and used to believe that I would be nothing without the influence of my peers. It was difficult wanting to have a signature style while not finding that spark within myself to generate on command. I used to always put others before me and being the youngest of two, and coming from an immigrant family, that's how I was created to be. As an adult, we learn that we accept the love we think we deserve. And most importantly we learn that abuse is not always physical, and it does not always come from strangers or people who hate you. It can be family and friends who are more comfortable keeping those around them down and close, rather than lifting them up and beyond. When you may feel lonely, vulnerable or need someone to listen; I’m so glad that there are organizations like The Trevor Project which use donations to help fund crucial suicide prevention tools like the Trevor Lifeline, the only 24/7 suicide prevention helpline explicitly aimed at LGBTQ+ youth. The Trevor Project also offers expert-led suicide prevention and mental health crisis intervention training sessions for teachers, school nurses, counselors and others who can make a difference in a young person’s life. 

As a younger queer person, I never knew who I would be able to ask the burning questions that I had. People would pass judgment on me and make assumptions about me before I would even open my mouth. Life is hard, and I wish I had all the answers, but what I do know is that life is precious and valuable, and no one deserves to feel lesser than because of who they love (as long as they are not hurting anyone else). Life is for living, and living means embracing your whole self, flaws and all. My art is bright, bold and colorful and I want people to not be afraid of "things". YES you can wear colorful eyeshadow and NOT look bananas. YES you can wear that Blouse and not have the chest for it. and YES they WILL be looking at you, but they're gonna look anyway...so might as well give em' a show.