While I introduced myself briefly on the home page, I welcome you again, my name is An Tonnu. While I have found myself living here in rural North Carolina now for the past 8 years as of 2022, I was actually born in St. Petersburg, Florida! I had really only lived there for the first 5 years of my life though before moving to the countryside in Georgia to start Kindergarten. I called the Georgia countryside my home from then until January of 2014, where I learned that my family would be moving once again, this time to North Carolina. As you can see I have moved a lot- change has been a big part of my life- it has both shattered me yet also molded me into someone better. One of the things that had remained constant during all these moves and acclimation periods for me though was my creativity and active imagination.

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Having those two things come hand in hand, I was quite the curious kid, and I still am. I brush up on historical events, mythologies, and the next piece of literature I manage to come into contact with. In many ways, History and English were ways to give my mind a bit of a mental workout in imagining and visualizing what I was learning. Currently as a Senior attending Anson County Early College I am also finishing up my Associate’s in Arts degree with South Piedmont and my High School Diploma, which I will both obtain in May. Learning is an endless road in my eyes, and while some parts may be more winding and rocky, the more I trek on that road the more I realize that I came into my own with the knowledge that I acquired.

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When entering Anson County Early College, I was somewhat unsure of what I wanted to do in life. I had for the longest time accepted the idea of being a doctor, though at some point in middle school, I began to have doubts about it. Coming into high school I was on shaky ground regarding it, and really, in this small corner of my mind there was whispering that I should be an artist instead. Art was something I really enjoyed doing, but I had only started keeping a sketchbook. As time passed the desire to become an artist only became more prevalent, and with my growth in confidence so did my sureness in that path. There was a certain ‘failure’ I had in the 10th grade that made me realize that I was living in denial about my desires. Despite failing, I felt relief instantly, that the rejection was a clue that my heart was not in the place I thought was the correct one. After that, I accepted that I wanted to become an artist full-time, and ever since then the picture seemed brighter and clearer than ever before. After graduating from both ACEC and SPCC I plan to go to UNC Chapel Hill and major in Studio Arts while also minoring in Entrepreneurship. From there I have a variety of options career wise, but whatever it may be (whether taking commissions, running my own store, or creating a web comic), I know it will be in the land of paints and pencil.