Hi There, 

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My name is Maryam. I am an artist based in New York City. I am currently a Junior at Baruch college majoring in Marketing and Advertising with a minor in New Media Arts. Read below to get to know me and my passions.

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Early life and how I got started:

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I was born in on February 26, 1997 in Egypt then I moved to NYC when I was 13 and I lived there ever since. I got started making art when I was 4 years old by finishing basic school drawing assignments. Ever since then I fell in love with art and all of its forms. In third grade I started my own school magazine, I spent weeks hand drawing every single page and spent my whole monthly allowance on printing 30 copies to give to my peers and teachers at my elementary school. The more I got invested into my hobby, I started to explore new forms of art. One of them was designing my dolls clothes and giving them a whole new Wardrobe. I also got into cooking, but that's one thing I couldn't tackle down until this day. skipping forward to fifth grade, my dad came back from The United States and bought me my first camera that I have ever held in my hand. Since then I was known for being the photographer of the family, I shot everything from weddings to birthday parties to family picnics. Moving forward to the end of 2012, my mom got diagnosed with breast cancer and under went the surgery. She couldn't take care of us alone so we moved to New York, where my dad works.

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After I moved to NYC:  

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My mom got better and became a cancer survivor. Life was great at the beginning and my dad's financials were stable. My siblings and I went to private school and that's when my dad started to financially struggle. By then I out grew all my first camera features and its quality wasn't helping me to take my photography to the next level. So I bought another point and shoot camera, the only one I could afford and I've been working with it since 2012. Most of my work on the website has been shot with a point and shoot. I had to work with what I had because I wasn't making any money off of my photography because no one afford to pay and I was too shy to ask.

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How High School elevated my work?

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Once my dad couldn't keep up with the private school's payments we had to go to a public school and that's when my parents became really over protective, I wasn't able to explore art as freely as I wished. I transferred to my High School a week late. So I was sitting doodling in my notebook in the principle's office waiting to get my schedule. The AP Studio Art teacher walked in the office and saw me drawing and told me I should enroll in his class. Then the principle put me straight into the AP course. I was the only Freshmen in class, while everyone else was a senior. I started to learn more about the technical side of drawing and I was able to use all the expensive art materials that I couldn't afford for free. I passed AP Drawing Exam with a 5 and Sophomore year I was enrolled into AP 2D Art class where I got to explore fine art photography and graphic design. Again I passed the exam with a 5 and In junior year I was enrolled in AP 3D Art. That's one I reached back to an old passion of mine fashion design, my school didn't have sewing machines so I had to sew everything bye hand but I didn't mind because I loved it so much. I also got to explore sculpting and Mixed media. I passed my final and last AP Art exam with another 5. Senior year I requested to have elective independent art studies to build my portfolio to apply to Art school.

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Present day / College:

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I applied to art colleges, but I didn't get accepted. I chose the closest and cheapest college near my house because again my dad had to pay for it. He was over protective he didn't want me to work and focus on my studies. Once I got accepted to college I didn't know what I wanted to do because the college that I'm in now it's known for being artistic. Now I'm a sophomore majoring in Marketing and Advertising with a minor in New Media Arts and I couldn't be any happier. I found my passion, I love to create and build brands. since last year I started to to freelance photography and fashion design and became more independent. I saved all the money I made from my freelance work and I finally upgraded my gear and I am ready to start putting new and improved content that shows my skills and abilities to the max.