What is your center?
I am a son of two immigrants. My dad is the descendant of General Muhumad Musa of the Pakistan Army and the Qizilbash warriors of the Safavid dynasty. And my mom is a descendant of Rodolpho Urbano of the Urbano Orchestra in the Philippines and Helen Urbano, San Diego Hospital’s nurse of the year. And my parents raised me to be a culmination of all these strengths from my family. So now I am now an orchestra leader, army general, and a war hero, and a nurse. Not literally of course, I could only dream of being a nurse and an army soldier at the same time. But I believe that my family have passed down a priceless gift that has made me who I am today. When these worlds collided in Mountain View California of the united states, I was given the opportunity to pursue whatever brought me fulfillment, powered by the capacity for strength that my family fought with in order to bring me to a place of true freedom. So I spend my days diving head on into various recreations that fill me with joy, contributing to my skill set and character. So that one day, I’ll be prepared to raise my own children who can wander in the same enjoyment that my family has given me.
Are you not entertained?
My core value in life is Enjoyment. In hindsight that sounds really weird, but I can explain. Any of my friends will tell you that I am a storyteller. Sometimes I like to gather all my friends in a circle, whether its a small amount of people or large, and tell them a story from my past to make them laugh. There is nothing I love more than creating somethig that brings genuine joy to a crowd of people. Whether it is through a film, a presentation, a performance, anything that allows me to see the reaction of my audience’s faces. And I hope to bring this into my social life, family, and career.
This is me, you might be wondering how I got here.
I love music and video production. Ever since I got my first ipad with a camera, I’ve been recreating my version of all the types of videos I see online. And as I got older, this has morphed from gaming and skit videos to more ambitious film projects. I also really love instrumental composing. One of my favorite music genres is film soundtrack, both modern and classic. There is something about this genre that I feel evokes a stronger feeling of character and excitement than any other. So it’s incredibly fulfilling to create something myself that brings me the same energy as my favorite film composers. Of course, I’m not quite at that level yet but I am enthusiastic to keep improving.
Imma do my own thing
The way I see myself growing artistically in Freestyle Academy is through my ability to be creative. My skills in film up until this point have developed through mimicry of other works. I would closely watch videos to understand the techniques required to make certain looks, and I would create effective scripts that were based on specific stories I’ve seen. But I’ve realized that if I want to make it as an artist I have to develop my own creative process, that way I can make new things that can inspire people.
The Red Pill
There must have been a thousand people that told me not to join freestyle. And by a thousand I mean like 3 people. But there was a great amount of pressure keeping me from committing to the creative path, making my decision to join freestyle feel quite risky. But all the concern went to shambles when I realized the community I’m part of. When I look at freestyle, I see a group of teachers who work together to create the best possible place for their students. And I don’t think I’ve ever been at a place where every teacher loves their job as much as freestyle, and where every single moving piece of the system is thoughtful and trustworthy. This is very valuable to me as a student because it makes me feel confident in putting just as much effort into my freestyle work, because I know that I am in good hands.