Every person is born with a gift or talent, but it is up to them to discover and appropriately exploit it, and Junior Jody Steel has done just that. While most students spend their free time perusing the mall and drinking lattes at Starbucks, Steel has come up with a much better way of utilizing both her time and ability. She knows what she likes and doesn’t let anything get in her way. She has speaks through her ardor: art. “I like to express myself,” Steel said. “Art is the one way that I can fully do that.” Being born into a family of artists it’s no surprise that Steel is so passionate and interested in art herself. She has seen the enthusiasm that her parents have shown for their own fervor of the fine arts, and saw that as a possibility for her own future. “Both of my parents are artists, so I’ve been doing art since forever,” Steel said. Being that her mother was always discouraged in attaining her dreams of becoming an artist, she has encouraged her daughter to go above and beyond what she knows Steel is capable of. “She tells me that nothing can stop me,” Steel said. With her family backing her up one-hundred percent and always urging her to be the best she can be, Steel is well on her way to achieving her life goals. Steel entered Cooper City High School as the average shy freshman, but as she watched Cowboy Television for the first time, that characteristic soon changed. As a sophomore she became a member of the CTV family and quickly broke free of her reserved shell. She became fearless not only on camera, but in the art world. “CTV has helped a lot,” Steel said. “It helped me to become more outgoing.” Not only did CTV give her the courage to be extroverted, it gave her experimental subjects. Steel would test out her new designs on people’s hands and arms to see how they would turn out. From there her creativity branched off into a completely new and larger scheme. She now creates and hand-designs everything from T-shirts and skateboards to tennis shoes. Not only does she concoct the designs, but she actually handcreates and sells them. She has turned her passion into a profit, this way she can further her experience and essentially jumpstart her career. “I started off drawing on people’s skin and then posted the pictures on Facebook,” Steel said. “Then people kept asking about it, now I make and sell shoes.”
Steel has much deeper intentions than making money; she designs not only for the enjoyment of herself but for others. “I like making other people happy and the look their faces is worth it,” Steel said. Steel is more than just another artist; she has character and intuition that others can only dream of obtaining. She is the rare gem in a dull world, her artistic talents stick out and her personality even more. With her future all mapped out, Steel hopes to one day attend excel at a high-standing art college. She even plans on opening up her own art gallery and giving tattoos. With a lot of heart and her entire life left, Steel is just starting out her life as an artist. “Art is my entire life and it makes me happy,” Steel said.