As an art major I always struggled with finding my creative identity, and in that I began to lose my entire sense of self and individuality, my art was my life but with lack of purpose in all that I created, I felt useless to myself and my community... Last year when I traded portfolio reviews, darkroom chemicals and paintbrushes for- data, observations, session planning and well, more paintbrushes, I figured I'd lose myself even further in the realm of identity crisis, but the complete opposite happened. Though, it was not between the lines of my SSMs that I discovered who I really was- it was within my circle. The same circle I stood in every Monday through Friday (and occasionally Saturday). It was within this circle of friends- or more like family that I truly began to understand who I was and my purpose in this big world. Through these 16 amazing individuals, I was empowered to be myself wholly. In learning to love all of their beautiful and unique minds- I learned to love my own, and now I can go confidently back into the community that I felt so lost in, and make a positive impact. 

Special Ops, Thank you for inspiring me to be me, I love you all.

Hello Two Thousand and Fourteen, I do not believe I've introduced myself properly, my name is Kristian. I'm somewhat of an artist and a dreamer, oh and I mustn't forget an adventurer. Although lately, I've only been a tutor, classroom support, lunchtime chaperone, amateur Pokemon trainer, and half marathon runner. With my world revolving around a year of service with City Year I haven't made much time to develop the things I daydream, doodle, and design- my creativity stays hidden in my many journals and sketchbooks and I often spend more time fawning over Pinterest posts instead of my own ideas. Alas, my year of service is quickly coming to a close so I must begin to work diligently on the things I hope to dedicate a lifetime of service to. Not that the last 9 months haven't been amazingly fulfilling, its just now time that I take all that I've learned and all that I aspire to do to bring to life the organization that will best make use of my creative ability and love for working with children. I'm journeying into the land of non-profits and along the way I want to challenge myself, explore new creative concepts, design, build, sew, write, cook, meet, and so much more. I have to really hone my ability as a leader for young people- which means I have to be able to grow and learn every day. I'm going to make my learning experiences as a student of life, as colorful, hope inspired, and meaningful as they can possibly be. Using this blog as a vessel to showcase all the things I get into, I'll do my best to make every post, picture, and update as wonderfully uplifting and enriching as the experiences themselves- so that maybe I can inspire whoever comes across this page. I've got a lot of work to do but until then, Happy 2014! 

I wanted to feel like the queen of my bedroom, so I made a crown. The wire work was pretty darn tricky, but once I got the structure made, wrapping it with embroidery floss was quite fun. While twisting and gluing, my mind wandered off to distance lands with beautiful gowns, brave princesses, and handsome princes. I love fairytales- stories of queens, kings, and magic, so this project was quite lovely! It was my first time making a crown, let alone something out of wire, I hope in the future I can make another!

The new year has officially begun, and to celebrate, I'm back in action with a new look, layout, and posts! 2013 feels like a blur now that I've conquered January, but I know there is so much more to come. Since my last post I've completed my first semester of City Year, signed up for a half marathon, visited Detroit (got inspired), registered my non-profit's name, updated this blog, and turned 23! I've got so many things to edit and upload from past adventures, and there's only more to come. 2014 is going to be a new year of inspiration, creativity, dreams, art, and imagination and I'm most certainly excited to share. Not only that, but this blog will now be the vessel for my non profit's journey into the land of after school enrichment. 2014 shall be absolutely splendid...