At a young age, my mom could tell that I was very enamored by cartoons and illustrations, so to inspire that curiosity I had as a child she purchased a VHS of Kiki's Delivery Service. This experience would later inspire me to start watching numerous pieces of Hayao Miyazaki's. When I was a child I couldn't have known how much of an impact this movie would make onto my life and as I look back to it now it still fills me with inspiration til this day. Day after day I would watch and re-watch the films, even going so far as to carry around my mothers household broom in hopes that I would emulate this girl who I had grown to love. As a child with autism, repetition was very common in my day to day life since it was a means of exploring concepts and ideas that were new without having to introduce big changes in my life, it was safe and warm in this aspect.

As a young woman, I've come to realize that a lot of my experiences as an artist, trying to make my name well known in such a massive industry, is very difficult and the overall experience does relate back to Kiki's during her travels and experiences of trying to accommodate her talents to an industrialized world. It was a moment of sheer inquisitiveness that brought me to watch the film again recently. From time to time, I draw from movie marathons of his work to gain inspiration in my own projects so me coming back to this childhood favorite isn't unheard of. However, in my recent circumstances, I was watching it more for memorial reasons. My mother, Deborah, died earlier this year in January. As a young woman who no longer has the parental figure who brought such beauty in my life, I had to go back to Miyazaki's work, not only for the beauty he presented in each of his stories but to recall the inner innocence that has since left me with life's recent turn of events.

If I ever had the chance to meet Mister Miyazaki in person, I would thank him for both my mother and I. I would express how his work brought new realities and ideas that gave me inspiration to be my very best. I would go on and on about how each film that he presented gave my mother and I moments of solidarity where we could both sit down and appreciate his work. Not just like a silly children's cartoon, but a meaningful piece of stunning artwork that brings a powerful narrative to a younger demographic who never really got the chance to experience such stories in the 90's. In my eyes, and I bet he would scoff at me for it, I see him as a true visionary. He's able to produce breath taking pieces that in my eyes can introduce fantasy in such a way that children and adults alike can have an enriching experience on a visual and personal level.

I always say his movies are more than just a show you tune into when there is nothing else on, certainly not. To me, they're moving master works of art. In narrative, artwork, character design, voice acting and so on; he's a true master and every piece he has created this far not only shows his talent but also the deep richness that lies in his imagination and his soul. So in closing, Thank you Hayao Miyazaki, I can only hope my words here can come close to touching you just like your work has touched me and the countless of other artists you inspire with your work. Thank you.