My World

 Hi,

    My name is Shantrell. I am a Freshman with the hopes of double-majoring in business and film. I am originally from Texas, where I have lived my whole life. Being at Lawrence marks the furthest I have been thus far. 

Welcome to Dallas Mural in Downtown Dallas

    As a freshman finally leaving the small bubble I called home, I’m just beginning to understand what it means to call myself an artist of any kind. For a long time, I didn’t feel like I was allowed to be truly creative. Growing up and never really exploring outside of Texas, my world felt closed off, not just physically, but emotionally and creatively as well. There were always unspoken rules about how to act, what to value, and what kinds of dreams were acceptable. Art often felt like something distant, something meant for people somewhere else, not something I was supposed to understand for myself.

A collage of culturally significant black media

“Any understanding of social and cultural change is impossible without a knowledge of the way media work as environments.” (McLuhan)

Looking back, I can see that the environment I grew up in was deeply shaped by media and how people around me responded to it. The movies, shows, music, and online content influenced what was considered acceptable. That’s why this quote feels so true to my experience. Media wasn’t just something we watched; it determined how we lived. 

                                    A series of behind-the-scenes photos while filming/getting media 

I still struggle to see myself as an artist, even today, I just feel like a girl experimenting and failing at a lot at new hobbies that never really last long. But I love learning and recording and seeing the ways that embracing these changes helps me grow, so if I had to set myself goals as an artist, I would say that I want to never stop learning or trying to improve. Whether it be my films, photos, cooking, or random things I learn tomorrow, I just want to value the space that I have for them.