Lessons in Heroism From Tenacious Teens

Anya Shukla and Kathryn Lau are founding members of The Colorization Collective, a youth-run organization that aims to promote diversity in the arts by supporting teen artists of color through mentorship programs and original content production. The organization exists to address a pipeline problem: If teen artists of color lack role models or peers who look like them, they drop out of the arts; consequently, a new generation of diverse artists fails to enter the workforce. I asked them to offer advice for how youths can take actions to realize their ideals and aspirations.

Anya: “Break things down into small goals. … Then slowly expand from setting those small goals, reaching them and continuing from there to achieve a larger mission.”

Kathryn: “I think it’s really important to take time to just step back and feel accomplished, and to have the same level of pride in smaller things as you do in the big milestones. Be self-aware throughout the process of creating change or doing things — and savor it, because time flies.”