Anderson Fuentes-Medina is a sophomore at Broomfield High. His knowledge and capabilities when it comes to fashion are extraordinarily brilliant and awe-inspiring.

Eagle Way: What got you into fashion?

Anderson Fuentes-Medina: My mom. When I was younger, she used to do little fun fashion sketches with my sister and I was fascinated by it. I didn’t think much of it because I was young and didn’t care about it, but they’re still around the house, and when I’m bored I look at them. Because I kept looking at them, it gave me inspiration and I was like, “Wow. This would be a cool hobby.” Fashion events also got me into fashion as well, but it was mainly my mom.

EW: Have you designed any clothes?

Fuentes-Medina: As of right now, no, but I have a lot of fashion sketches that I’m saving. I have some in the sketchbook in my backpack and at my house; I have them saved. Hopefully in the future I can actually make them into real life, physical form things; I want to make it out of the picture.

EW: Is fashion something you want a future career in?

Fuentes-Medina: Yeah. That’s definitely something I want to do once I graduate — go into that field. I want to get my degree in fashion and media.

EW: When you’re sketching, is there a preferred genre you usually do?

Fuentes-Medina: The two genres are mostly the fashion genre and pop culture-celebrity genre. I like to draw celebrities for fun like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Lizzo, The Weekend, Sza, and P1Harmony. You name it.

EW: You mentioned that you want a career in fashion, but if that doesn’t work out, do you have another career you would like to pursue?

Fuentes-Medina: I think definitely doing graphic design — a little bit of animation, and doing digital art mostly. I can take that as a career path and do digital art for huge companies or just for collaborations, but fashion is what I’m set on.

EW: Anderson isn’t just a great artist and designer, but a source of light and inspiration.

Have you ever struggled with your identity?

Fuentes-Medina: Yes. Last year, freshman year when I came, I was really self conscious; I still am, I’m not saying that I’m not, but I was really self conscious of how I looked and how I dressed at school. Since this year, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try to actually look quote on quote “different.” I’m not trying to be different, but you know, look different if that makes sense. I started to dress the way I wanted, too, and not the way I dressed my freshman year, which was me trying to fit in and look the way everyone else looked.

EW: As an artist and student, are there any tips or words of inspiration you would like to share with others?

Fuentes-Medina: Yes. Some artists, and people here in general, hide themselves. Some freshmen do this because they’re scared of this whole high school thing, but I want people to know that high school isn’t gonna last forever, so just embrace yourself right now to have that confidence in the future. Open that door; it’s okay to look and be different. People might judge you for it — judgment never ends — but it gets to a point where you decide that you wanna get the judgment instead of poorly blocking it out. Accept that the judgment is going to come and keep [coming]. I guess what I’m trying to say is that you need to just embrace yourself and if you have a mindset that it’s okay to be different, then you’re set for the rest of high school and your life.

EW: Many people struggle with their identity in life, and fashion is one of the few things that can help individuals become the person they want to be.