18 years and 10 months ago, a small-town, native girl from a family of 13 children, and a boy from a family farm in Whangarei, New Zealand, somehow met in the middle of Unalaska. A little over 2 years later, these two people got married, moved into a house they'd just built, and had a kid. Now, that tiny baby girl hadn't been what they were expecting. Instead, both of the parents believed that they were going to be having a boy, and had already chosen the name "Tanner". But what they'd planned would soon prove to be switched back to front from what actually ended up happening. Instead, they had me…
My name, Cyri, originates from Cyril Thompson, my great grandfather on my dad's side. My dad has always thought of me as living up to my namesake, for Cyril literally translates into "protector", or "guardian". My mum, on the other hand, doesn't always agree with this, and still believes that I'm about 6 or so years younger than I actually am. However, that's just another point of my parent's differing beliefs, and just another opposing view that causes them to fight every so often. Though they're divorced now, I still find time to spend with each, though I still live with my mom here in Unalaska.
Over the past 18, nearly 19, years here on this small, secluded island, there are many things that aren't easy to come by, such things as clothing stores, arcades and malls, or even the most basic thing as a 7-11. True, we do have a gas station that sells drinks and such, two grocery stores, one of which sells clothes, and the Unisea mall, that has a variety of shops, none of them are the things that you would see in a big urban city. Along with that, there comes the level of hardness that one has to go through with making friends or dating, here in Unalaska. It's not like there's anywhere fancy to take your date, or anywhere extremely fun where you and your friends can hang out, so things like that are very limited. With that comes the fact that the community is so closely knit, and as the old saying that goes, "The best and worst thing about living in a small town is that if I don't know my own business, someone else surely does." Your business was everybody's business
One thing that had a major affect upon my choices for college, and other parts of my education was, oddly enough, a cartoon; Sailor Moon, to be specific. I first saw the show when I was 9 years old, at my cousin Jade's house in Tairua, New Zealand. Now, I'd traveled to other countries by this time, including Russia, Tahiti, and other parts of Europe, and had seen many different sorts of shows and cartoons. But neither me, nor my mum, had seen any kind of show like this. The world of Sailor Moon was one filled with magic and surprises, from talking cats from the future, to an enchanted jewel that could cause the entire city of Crystal Tokyo to fall under a deep, frozen sleep. Needless to say, I was thrilled and obsessed with Japanese animation from there on. From there on, all of my drawings from my childhood consisted of flashy outfits, and large-eyed characters, similar to what one might see a cartoon such as Sailor Moon; a style of Japanese art that is known today as Anime.
Most of my elementary school "career", as one might call it, was rather boring. For the first time since day care, I found it extremely hard to make friends because of how close I had been to my parents. I had been home schooled for Kindergarten and 1st grade, as well as part of 3rd grade, and what with my boundaries being limited to the end of our driveway… Well, let's just say that I didn't have much experience when it came to socializing.
Fast forward to 7th grade: I was still very shy and continued to have a hard time making friends and relating to other people, but that never bothered me much, because I preferred being alone anyhow. I really got into Japanese music, and the language along with it. I found both of these exceptionally fascinating, and my fixation on Japan's culture began to grow. I was also in love with my art at this time, and found it sometimes hard to limit my drawings in my sketchbook to one page that week, which was the maximum we could have in the Junior High art classes. As I ascended into High School, my obsession with art and Japan continued to grow, and I even know some of the language now, the entire Hiragana (traditional) alphabet, and the tiniest bit of Kanji as well. My art has excelled immensely, and I have even been commissioned a few times. As I see it, I am no longer an tyro when it comes to art, and the fact that I am willing to learn new things, first and foremost being Japanese, of course. I hope to continue my studies of the language when I attend college, and hope to excel further in my art as well. With a higher level education, I believe that my goals are something that are not only attainable, but already set at my feet; ready to be taken to the next level.