As a 6th grader at Manatee School for the Performing Arts in Palmetto, FL I took my first graphic design class. At the time, the class was just a way to parlay with the other new kids on the block -- however, it immediately became more than a grade. It quickly became a creative hobby, a way to give unconventional gifts for birthdays, to add value to my class assignments in school, and now a freelance graphic designer fetish.