For a long time I carried on doing what I thought I should do.

Being who I thought I should be.

All the while feeling like I was holding something back.

An unfiltered version of me that wanted desperately to be let out to walk around.

Free.

This was until sometime 8 years ago, when I was preparing to attend Burning Man for the second time.

I started making my own costumes, creating pieces that felt like an extension of my true self.

The moment I put them on, I felt different, empowered, fearless, and completely me.

It was as if I had stepped into a new version of myself, one that had always been there, just waiting to be revealed.

Living.

This is what I am.

This is what I want.

To do something real.

For these human hands to create something.

This is what happens when you say “fuck it”.

Hats.

Sure, there are probably more productive things that I could do, but this is the thing I love.

I love the time put into it.

The thought.

The effort.

The joy of transforming what was just a piece of felt in the morning into a conversation piece by sundown and knowing that it will transform you.

How you walk into a room, how you stand, how you talk, how you think.

The perfect hat to take you from who you think you should be to who you truly are.