The Boy Who Found His Voice

Sometimes, it’s hard to find your voice. Especially when you’re young, you may be timid or feel different, or if you’re like me, you might have trouble speaking — literally!

As I mentioned before, tapping into art not only helped me find my creative expression, but even more so, my voice! So I decided to tap into the foundation of it all in my next project. My second book, The Boy Who Found His Voice, is a picture book inspired by my own life. It’s about a boy with a speech difference who learns the power of self-expression through art. A young boy who had trouble with words. He paused and stuttered, and stammered when he spoke, which made school really tough. But with encouragement from his mom and a paintbrush in his hand, he learns that finding your voice isn’t about being perfect ― it’s about being true to yourself. It’s meant to be an empowering testament to art, empathy, and having self-confidence even in the face of doubt.

I was born deaf, and after a hearing corrective surgery, I was left with only partial hearing, as well as a stutter. It was hard for me to express myself at first. But one day, I learned that I could paint. I could paint anything that I wanted! I then realized that meant I could express myself through my art. I found my voice! And the art made it easier for me to speak, write, and tell the world my story, and stories that encouraged me. And so I did! I created my first book, We Can Portraits of Power.

This debut picture book featured paintings of over 30 icons ― musicians, artists, writers, civil rights leaders, sports legends, change-makers, record-setters, and more ― with explanations of how each of them inspired me. This book tells stories of amazing people who had to overcome challenges in their lives. And if they can overcome challenges, and if I can, then you (the reader) can overcome anything, too! Just like these icons, who all just started with a dream, this book shows how powerful dreams can drive us to achieve anything.

Writing my first book was a long process. I selected a list of people I painted throughout the years, and thought about what they meant to me and why. Not surprisingly, I had too many people to choose from! So I had to condense my choices, and that was really challenging. That forced me to be very strategic and focus on the purpose of the overall project, rather than just the art. The whole process took around 2 years. I even had to personally message the celebrities that I selected to be featured, to ask for their permission to use their images in my books. This was something I was truly dedicated to putting out to the world. And I wanted to do it right. The main idea wasn’t just to show all the people who inspired me. But also to show how all of them were able to keep going through difficult times. I never lost sight of the mission: encouraging readers by telling them stories that would give them the courage to keep following their dreams, no matter what life throws at them!

This book focused more on my story and didn’t require me to paint, so the process seemed faster than my first book. This book was about sharing my struggles and showing others how I got through hard times. And most importantly, providing them with a way to overcome challenges in their lives – which was similar to the goal and message behind my first book. I decided to include a mantra in this story. Something simple and catchy that I felt kids and grownups would be able to say and incorporate into their daily lives. “Breathe in, breathe out, let go of all your doubts… you can, you will, you’re able!” This mantra actually helped me get through some of the doubt I faced when illustrating this book – proving it can motivate anyone in any circumstance! Painting and drawing are different, so it was really fun to create a new type of art, and I was able to breathe in and out, and take on an exciting, new challenge.

I was 16 at the time I was working on this book. And I was very fortunate to be guided and mentored each step of the way! I had to step out of my comfort zone and dive a little deeper, and ensure my art was expressing the positive message I wanted to share with the world. It was a maturing process, but also so much fun. Overall, I’m happy to have been able to share my story and the story of others with the world through my work!