3 years, 520 pages and 19 covers. I thought my body couldn’t do any more. June of 2021, was the first time in my career that I wanted to give up. I couldn’t possibly work any harder. I’ve given up so many weekends and holidays chasing this dream. Working for an average of $4 an hour, hoping that this will be the book that I finally earn my stripes, and make it. I was tired angry and defeated. I no longer felt joy when making art but panic and anxiety because the deadlines kept getting shorter, budgets smaller and my art more compromised. Social media made me forget all my hard work and feel like nothing I ever did would be enough. But my family and friends helped carry me through. They saw the value in me that I couldn’t and gave me strength to find solutions and keep moving forward. Thank you all for your love and support. I’m passionate that storytelling can change the world and I’m not done. I just needed to take a breath, connect to the voice inside my chest that’s been screaming to be let out, play second wind and rise with more fire in my heart than I started with 3 years ago. Knock me down 9 times and I get up 10. #cardib They told me being an artist would be hard but from all the struggle, came knowledge. This work has made me stronger than I ever hoped I would be. It’s helped me realize that I’ve been terrified of being vulnerable and sharing my own story. But I’m ready now. This is the year of fearless creativity. This is the year of having fun and not giving a fuck about being disagreeable. This year, let’s have the courage to celebrate what makes each of us unique and use it to make the world a more colorful place. This year, let’s be unapologetic about doing things that make our hearts sing. This year, let’s not be so hard on ourselves, because everything we do, is enough as long as it’s from the soul.