I am Darian Avery Romero. I am a 16-year-old student attending Los Altos High School and Freestyle Academy. I am a huge science fiction fan, my interest in which is one of the primary things that drives my creativity.

In my free time, I typically play video games with friends, which tends to help me decompress from school, as well as continue fueling my love for science fiction. Lately I’ve not done much in the way of personal projects, but when I end up in just the right headspace, I get myself to work on some personal projects in Blender 3D for a bit of fun.

I do my utmost to maintain my mental health, and I see the value in setting boundaries, a skill I am beginning to practice. Honesty is something that has been trained into me, and it’s something I feel strongly about when it comes to both contribution and receiving in an interaction. The current issue with myself I’m working to address is the difference between my intent and my impact. It is an issue that I’ve only recently realized was an issue, and over the coming months, I intend to close the gap between the two.

Through Freestyle, I hope to learn quite a bit about Film, a medium that I’ve always been drawn to. I have a particular interest in visual effects, and while I know it’s not going to be the focus, I look forward to learning about when, where, and why it makes sense to use visual effects, as well as everything else involved in the filmmaking process. I’m excited to learn a range of things from the Digital Media class, particularly music-making, which I’ve been interested in for a while, but never taken the time to properly learn about.

I appreciate that at Freestyle we are given a community to grow with throughout the two years we get to spend here. Making connections with people is something I love, and I’m already finding myself becoming more and more comfortable around the people here. This program has already helped me learn a thing or two about myself, and I think with the community, structure, and tools provided, I’m going to learn a plethora of things. I’ve had a slightly rickety start, but this place leaves me with a kind of hope that I didn’t know I had.