I want to start my blog by introducing myself in the way I know best, telling about who I am, my interests, what I've accomplished, my future plans, and quotes I live by.
My name is Autumn Ruiz. Many people call me by my middle name, Renee.
I'm 16 years old as of writing this and will be 17 in October, a senior at my high school and a second year at my trade school. I am a proud Latina with Mexican and Hispanic heritage, and the first in my family to pursue College.
I am interested in many things, from childishly nerdy to academic. I love Pokémon, Minecraft, and other video games. I grew up playing Pokémon especially, collecting the cards and putting them all in binder sleeves, always happy to add the next one with my collection.
I don't collect just cards, I also collect gemstones to learn about their structure, and just for fun, their religious and spiritual meanings. Opal is my birthstone and my number one favorite stone. It's built with a microscopic structure of silica beads stacked in a three dimensional grid that trap water. This water reflects beautifully in the fire of the crystal, showing an elegant display or rainbow colors. The meaning of the stone is one that I find poetic and motivating. Hope, Purity, Transformation, and Deep Imagination.
I believe this stone suits me as a birthstone for the fact I am hopeful and optimistic about my future, and driven to transform myself into the best, "purest" version of myself. I have a deep imagination that fuels my creativity, and I use it both academically and artistically.
My other interests lie in academics and art. I have played in an orchestra proudly for 5 years, having learned the Viola first, then the Violin. I've loved music since I was young, and found a particular interest in both Metal and Orchestral music. Someday I hope to learn the organ and piano. I'm very artistically talented, my Sophomore year in high school, I worked with Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts in their high school student program, Visions. My second gallery was done within the same year with Rocket Go-Go's SHEDECK gallery where I represented women's empowerment on a skateboard.
The interest that drives me most relates to Human Anatomy. I'm very fascinated with the human body and all of it's functions. It's amazing to me how each structure in the body has a purpose and how it fulfills that to work in unison with the whole body system. I want to pursue a career that involves both art and human anatomy, and I've settled on becoming a mortician.
Many ask why become a Mortician of all things, and what I can say personally is that I believe death shouldn't be a taboo topic, and that people shouldn't fear a natural process. Growing up Mexican with a very large family, I was around many elderly relatives who passed away before I turned 10 years old. I was told that when they passed, they'd have peace with themselves, and be free of their pain. While I am not religious, i do believe that they achieved a state of comfort they earned after years of a full and challenging life. I hope to bring the grieving comfort for their lost loved ones and reassure them that they can grieve and cherish memories they have with those people while not holding themselves back for the sorrow and regrets they may have about a loved one's passing. I grew up learning about Dia De Los Muertos, and honoring those who are not physically present, and I hope to share the sentiment with others. Death is not an end, but rather a new chapter that we shouldn't reject and vilify.
With this all in mind, I hope to build a funeral parlor that has a section that looks like a comforting home with a beautiful garden to allow the grieving to find peace in their time of need. I wish to do this to give them a sense or normalcy in all the grief and chaos, while also allowing them to find their way to acceptance with reality in a manner that isn't harsh yet unrealistic.
I live by Vincent Van Gogh's quote, "Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me," for the fact that in my toughest hour, there was still a silver lining to the clouds above my head, I was still capable, and I was still alive to experience the beauty of my life and the challenges it contains. The second quote I hold dear to my heart is "There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in proportion," by Edgar Allan Poe. This quote has reminded me time and time again that there is no beauty without imperfection, and that there is nothing wrong with that.
In all, I believe this is a proper introduction about who I am, and who I plan to become. I look forward to new opportunities, challenges, friends, and mentors along my journey through life.
