Since I was young, the creative arts have always been my safe space. Whether it was film, art or music, I always found something that would allow me to escape from whatever was happening around me. I would not just spend hours creating stories in my head; I also loved to lose myself in whatever I was making. 

I initially left school to study to become a PE teacher. Then I changed to something in multimedia, then some random musical theatre courses and then I switched again to learn jazz piano for a year. However, I decided that university wasn't for me. So, I left without finishing any degrees. 

I was a little lost when the global financial crisis hit. And being in my early 20s, I wasn't happy and felt there was more to see and do than working in retail. I wanted to create something.

Challenge myself and make an impact.

An idea from somewhere unexpected came. While on several daily work calls and stuck at home all day, I would always notice the blank wall behind me. If knew if I was stuck there on calls staring at this blank wall, I would quickly get bored of it. And if I was already getting bored of staring at this wall, then people on I was speak to would also get bored of it. 

So I decided to do a painting. What else was I going to do? I had all the time and wasn't allowed to go anywhere. I decided to do a beach pour painting, and after a month of teaching myself how to do this, I bought the materials and planned out how I was going to do this in my living room. Then one Sunday afternoon in April, I painted. 

Lockdown allowed me the time to get reacquainted with the creative side I hadn't let loose for a long time. And it wasn't just art; I also created stop motion videos, I started my journey of sharing how we are all leaders and writing stories.