A Wonderful Blog

2026 MLK Jr. Oratorical Contest Speech

“I Am the Future of My Community”

“What will my future be like?” That is a question we have all asked at some point. You may have imagined flying cars, spaceships, and living on Mars. Maybe the future is much simpler. It could be a nice modern house, a sports car, and a well-paying job in real estate. In the current state of the world, it is hard to keep that same optimism. For youth today, the future may look like working a 9-to-5, living paycheck to paycheck, and retiring at the age of 70. Maybe even earlier, if their job was taken by AI. I bet it’s been a while since anyone has talked to you about climate change.

With all these problems, it’s almost impossible not to ask, “What future?” Well, I’ll tell you what future. The youth are the future. The youth have dared to dream beyond the grey walls of our society. The youth are marching through the streets across the world, hoping to make a change. We refuse to be confined to what has been done and what one thinks can be done.

What would I do with the power of an adult? I would speak up about the injustices I see around me and be an example for those younger than me, but can’t I do that now? The future of my community can be innovative. The future can be unlimited opportunities for all. Stopping gun violence, closing the wealth gap, eliminating inequity, rewriting our story so the next generation can think about their futures too. Because even before we turn 18, we make so many important decisions. We decide what career we want or where to apply for college.

So I’m making the most important decision of all. I’m choosing to be the future. I’m choosing to do better than those who came before us because we are the future of our communities. I am the future of my community. In a letter by the Universal House of Justice to the world, it states, “All must surge, but the youth must soar.” Thank you.

Note

I won 2nd place!

African Storytelling Illustrations

These are illustrations I did for an African storytelling event done by my uncle!

Nsukuru (Orange)

Oh nsukuru
What you mean to me
In life, just enough
You give me energy

Round and rough
Small and large
Sweet and sour
Soft and hard

Never the same
But the same effect
The first day I had one
I will never forget

Firm, but squishy
My thumb making a dent in the side
Sweet juice drips out
Some getting in my eye

Sour, then sweet
Sunlight beaming through the window
In a nice kitchen in Raleigh
Now in my room

Not my favorite fruit
That is nseungeu menyu
Mangoes are my favorite fruit
I’ll always love oranges, Nsukuru

Tiny Hiatus

From December 22nd to January 5th, I will be going on a small hiatus! It’s nothing serious, I’ll just be taking a break from posting. I will still be active on my Instagram (@luaagcreative)! I hope I can come back with lots of new things to share. See you soon!!! ❤

Big Chop Day

This is another piece I made for my Introduction to Visual Arts class! I really enjoy using colored pencils and crayons to make abstract art. It makes me feel free from any expectations of perfection.

This piece is meant to depict the day I decided to cut off my locs. It wasn’t a particularly sad or happy day (except for the fact that my head felt lighter), but it felt like I finally had the opportunity to do more with my hair than I could do when I had locs. Yes, there are many hairstyles for locs, but I wanted to try something new. I love the colors I used in this piece, and I think it represents the new paths I could take on my hair journey. The dark blob in the background is supposed to excess hair. In a way, it is meant to illustrate something that can hold you back. In reality, I don’t think my hair was holding me back from doing things differently, but maybe letting go of the past helped me to make a lot of changes.

Songs That Influenced Me

This is a list of songs that have honestly affected what kind of music I listen to and the music that I create. This list is subject to change, so I may or may not make an updated version, but I just wanted to share the songs that have inspired me.

“Time to Shine” by H1-KEY: It has a good mixture of swing and an essence of motivation.
“Remember Summer Days” by Anri: The melody is slightly sad, but it is still a happy song (I think, I never looked at the song’s translation). I love the use of piano, guitar, bass, drums, and trumpet. This song also prompted me to start listening to J-pop.
“Fall” by Cheynader: It’s sad, but also nostalgic. This is the song that made me like Cheynader’s music.
“Didn’t Cha Know” by Eryka Badu: It’s a slow song with a positive message. I love the use of drums and slow tempo.
“Fighting” by BSS: It had a good message and honestly almost made me cry the first time I listened to it. I love the louder chorus that transitions from the quieter pre-choruses.
“Day 1” by Red Velvet: This was one of the first Red Velvet songs that I liked once I actually got into them. The first Red Velvet songs that I loved when I was younger were “Power Up” and “Russian Roulette.” I still love them, and I might add them to this list later! I really love the song’s use of rock and an upbeat tempo. It’s cute and sappy, plus it reminds me of what I thought being a high schooler would be like (fun and adventurous lol).
“Lucky” by SEVENTEEN: Upbeat with a good message (motivational). This is my sister’s favorite SEVENTEEN song, so it naturally became my favorite too.
“TT” by TWICE: Once again, this song reminds me of my life during 5th grade, when I first listened to K-pop songs in my sister’s car.
“MIROH” by STRAY KIDS: Noisy but upbeat. This is the first Stray Kids song that I have ever listened to, and though it is a bit louder and rougher than the other songs in this list, it still holds a special place in my heart (and it’s probably the reason I still really like noise music).

I hope you enjoyed reading this! Please look forward to an updated version of this list in the future!

Clay Art

These were for an art project I was doing in my Intro to Visual Arts class last year. They don’t hold any special meaning, but I got to experiment with clay art, which is an art I would love to do sometime again soon. The flower is a paperweight, and the star is meant to be a candle holder, but I use it to hold many things now!

A Mountain in Hokkaido

This is my first time doing a piece like this outside of an art class! I used crayons which was a bit difficult because I wasn’t sure how to blend it. I ended up using Vaseline which made it look 10 times better. I have started getting in the habit of seeing where I have gone wrong and making notes for next time. Though there are many things I can learn, I think this piece turned out way better than if I had done it a few years ago! Good job, me!

Self critique notes ❤️:
-Learn more about working with crayons lol
-Don’t outline (especially with ink)
-Maybe I should have done it horizontally
-Background mountain could have been bigger
-Blend sky better
-Try paint crayon/colored pencils or oil pastels?

Finished product at the end! ⬇️

Bedroom Sketches

Here are some sketches I did in my bedroom to practice drawing using references! I usually use images of different K-pop idols when I do this, but sometimes I’ll just use any image I see on the internet. I will show the sketch as well as the reference I used for it. I hope to one day start playing around with colors, too.