Lifestyle

From a young age, creativity has been the compass guiding nearly every decision I make. I’ve always been drawn to art—not just as a hobby, but as a way of seeing the world. I pay attention to small details: the typography on a sign, the color palette of a storefront, the texture of architecture in a new city. Ideas come to me everywhere: while sketching a design for a sweatshirt, taking photos of street art on a trip, or brainstorming a brand concept in my notes app. My lifestyle is rooted in creativity, movement, and curiosity, and those traits naturally led me to pursue Entrepreneurship and Global Business as my academic path. I don’t just want to learn business—I want to build it. I want to create.

Art is at the core of who I am, but it’s not limited to drawing or design. To me, art is storytelling and expression. It’s taking an idea that exists only in my imagination and shaping it into something people can interact with. When I design for my business Made by Laiken, each sweatshirt or print isn’t just a product—it’s an emotional memory. I illustrate campuses, skylines, landscapes, and moments that represent where someone has been or who they are becoming. That ability to transform connection into a physical item is the foundation of branding and marketing, and it’s what sparked my love for the entire creative process behind a business.

Marketing, specifically, is one of my favorite parts of entrepreneurship because it combines strategy and psychology with creativity. I love thinking about how a brand makes someone feel. I pay attention to the visual identity, tone of voice, packaging experience, and the story behind it all. Marketing allows me to merge creativity with business strategy—not only creating something visually appealing, but building a narrative people want to be part of. I don’t just enjoy marketing; I’m energized by the challenge of differentiating a product in a competitive space. I analyze trends, test ideas, experiment with branding, and evaluate analytics to see what resonates with customers. I love being hands-on with every detail—from the concept phase to packaging orders to tracking sales insights. I thrive in the mix of strategy, design, execution, and customer connection.

My lifestyle has also been shaped by travel, which heavily influences how I approach entrepreneurship. Traveling opens your eyes to new markets, cultures, tastes, and consumer behaviors. Every city I visit broadens my perspective and fuels my creativity. I study how brands operate in different countries—what captures attention in a market I’m unfamiliar with, how cultural values influence marketing, and what makes a product desirable to different audiences. Experiencing different cultures firsthand has made me adaptable, curious, and able to think from a global perspective—qualities that are essential in global business.

Travel doesn’t just inspire ideas. It pushes me to be more independent, resourceful, and confident in unfamiliar situations. I learn to navigate new environments, communicate across language barriers, and find connection through shared experiences. Those moments—standing in a street market trying new food, reading signs in a different language, exploring neighborhoods on foot—teach lessons no classroom could replicate. The world becomes the ultimate business case study.

What makes my lifestyle meaningful is that my passions don’t exist separately from my goals—they feed each other. Creativity strengthens my entrepreneurial ideas. Marketing allows me to communicate emotion and build community around a brand. Travel gives me global awareness and cultural intelligence. Together, they shape not only what I want to build, but who I am becoming.

Studying Global Business and Entrepreneurship isn’t just an academic decision—it’s an extension of my identity. I’m someone who wants to build brands that make people feel something, who thrives in environments of innovation and design, who sees opportunity everywhere, even in the smallest everyday detail. I don’t just dream of ideas; I turn them into something real.

Creativity is more than an interest—it’s my way of moving through the world. And business is the framework that lets me scale that creativity into something bigger.

Addionally, family and friends means everything to me. They’re my foundation and my biggest source of motivation. My dad and my sister specifically inspire me every day — my dad through his drive, work ethic, and ability to stay grounded no matter the situation, and my sister through her kindness, creativity, and genuine heart. No matter where life takes me, they remind me to stay true to my values and never lose sight of what’s most important.