Welcome to my corner of the Internet!

I'm Alliyah, I'm from the East Bay in California, USA. I like making things, and I like sharing things on my own terms, in a clear, accessible way. I could easily create and use a social media account to share what I've made, but that opens me up to:

• A massive tech company selling my data
• My method of sharing being limited by format of the site or app
• Concerns about an algorithm, how many likes I get, generally dealing with all of the issues with social media (I am much happier without it)

I still want to share things I have created. I have been inspired and learned from people uploading their work to personal social media accounts and blogs, and I have always wanted to do the same. I want to be able to share a link and show here are some things I have done, here's things I am proud of, and how to contact me,without that being like, an Instagram page. Instagram is a bit traumatizing for me now, honestly.

When I was 13, I watched "Make Happy"

Make Happy is a stand up special by Bo Burnham. I've been a fan of his work since I was like, 8, which is kind of ridiculous. Anyway, in the special, he says something that always stuck with me: "If you could live your life without an audience, you should do it." Burnham was basically test subject #1 in terms of Internet fame, so saying that, coming from him, means a lot, and it stuck in my head in a way few things do. I have a bad memory, not many things stick in here. I have a LOT of notes.

Anyway, this created a dilemma for me. I want recognition, feedback, and acknowlegment for the things I do. But in the world I lived in the fasted, easiest way to do that was to blast your life on social media. But I did not want to live my life with an audience. But I wanted to share my ideas and my creations with an audience. That's always put me in an awkward situation. How do I do both?

Share my ideas, share my name, but not my face.

There's a reality here: If you google my full, legal name, you'll find a picure of me. That works for basically everyone. But I can try to create a divide. When I was 11 years old, I was live streaming painting a blue sky and clouds onto my desk leg. I never put my identity online, and I took internet safely very seriously. The only people in the live were 2 friends, one from elementary school who had moved away, and another friend who lived down the street for me. For some reason, the one who had moved said my full legal name in the chat to mess with me. I had not been doxxed or anything, but I could no longer save the live. I never talked to him after that.

WOW This is so pretentious.

Yeah it absolutely is. This is a bizzare way to introduce yourself on the homepage of what is essentially a portfolio. I'm super aware. To the point where I might completely redo this page and delete all of this. Here's a picture of my son Koromaru, hopefully he'll win you over.