“Till the time I was in 7th grade, I was a class topper. I remember if I got a B, then I would cry. I had to get an A no matter what. I don’t know what happened during the 8th and the 9th grade, I started being an average kid and started failing in subjects in the 10th grade. I don’t know what happened. But what I remember is that my cousin brother had given me a pen drive. I never used to listen to english music. In the pen drive were 50-60 songs. I started listening and finding out more on these bands. Green Day and Aerosmith and all that. I started wearing black nail polish and started listening to more of these songs. I tried to study but I just could not. That was when my inclination towards art started to take shape. There was also this guy in school I dated who was into this punk thing, that also influenced me. But he and I broke up and it might sound very cliched but I was really heartbroken. So I remember, I stayed in my room for three weeks and painted my room, every wall from inch to inch. That was when it really clicked that I loved what I was doing. This art. That’s how I came to know about graphic designing. I was really amazed. But I was confused between art and graphic designing so I started mixing these two. I would draw and scan it and fill in colors. Print again, draw on it again and scan it again back and forth. My medium of expression was mixed. Adapting. Just like my life.”

– Ujala Shrestha, Met her in Patan Durbar Square

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