About Maria

When I was 10, my parents brought home out very first computer. When I first saw it, my eyes lit up with the thoughts of playing Oregon Trails, just like in my class! Later that day I found out I had to actually purchase the game in order to play it. However, it didn't tale me long to learn and love the internet (the safe realm of the internet that is) and at least once a day I'd be on the Disney Channel website (without my parents permission. I was such a rebel back then). As time passed, I began wanting to know exactly how these pages were made, and suddenly, I found myself obsessing over coding. I had spent countless hours learning all about coding and the different kinds of coding. Including what are pixels, what is the difference between jpeg and a png, simple wed design dos and dont's, and so much more. I loved learning about web design so much, that by the time I was 12, I decided that I was going to be a web designer.
When I entered High School, I made sure I was enrolled in the Multimedia Academy, where I learned the basics of Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Photography, and many other design related classes. There was one class in particular I was enrolled in when I was 15, it was “Basic HTML”. After the first class, I met with the professor and showed him some of the coding I had done on my own time. He looked up at me and told me that I was much too advanced for this class and he made me the TA for the semester and ensured me an “A” for the class.
By 15, everyone that knew me knew how much I enjoyed coding and design that they were always asking me for help with all kinds of projects. Even professors would ask me for help from time to time about what looked good and to show them what worked and didn't work. I was the Multimedia Academy Star. However, that didn't mean that everyone approved of my future goals.
Whenever an adult asked me, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” my chest would puff up with pride and say, “I'm going to be a web designer!” Oh the look of confusion and disbelief they all had in their eyes. Most asked me if I was sure, some didn't understand what I meant, so when they clarified, they replied with a are-you-sure-thats-what-you-want-to-do “oh,” and others just told me flat out that I wasn't going to end up doing what I said I would.
“Many people start going to school for one thing. Some go into business and come out being astronauts”, said my uncle in law.
“It'd be best if you take more spanish classes than design classes,” said my counselor. “It's like this, here's the finish line, and you want make a U-turn away from the finish line and off the race completely just to built a little web page.”
All in all, no one had true confidence that I could make it as a designer. With little to no faith in me, it's hard to see how anyone would continue trying to achieve something no one thought was possible. Well, here I am, 5 years later, and somehow I did it. I graduated from San Diego State University as a Graphic Design Major and now I'm working harder than ever to achieve my dream of becoming a web designer. Of course, if I were to become a publisher, an in-house designer, or a magazine layout designer, I wouldn't be disappointed either.