By Katelynn Luu
Coming from a family of artists, it’s no surprise that sophomore Leroy Tran is intimately familiar with that spark of creativity. However, the sheer width of that creative streak sets him apart with interests in writing, photography and music.
As a first-year staff member, Tran comes to Baron Banner with a diversity of writing experiences under his belt, ranging from short fictional stories and poetry to essay publications for small journals and writing competitions.
“My brother encouraged me a lot because he’s an English major, and he used to write occasionally for The [Orange County] Register,” Tran said. “So, beginning in middle school, I really focused on writing, and I really tried to seek out feedback from my English teachers.”
Not one to be restricted to writing assignments for school, Tran looks forward to the opportunity to have the creative freedom to write articles about topics of his choice in Baron Banner. Tran also hopes to gain more experience to improve his photography skills.
“My mom’s a photographer, and she taught me everything I know about photography,” Tran said. “I usually struggle a lot with composition, so I’d love to improve that.”
Tran also enjoys playing the guitar and skateboarding in his free time. After his dad taught him to play the guitar at eight years old, Tran discovered his love for writing music, often collaborating with friends to write and publish music on BandLab, a platform for musicians to record and mix music.
“[Writing music] just comes from an idea,” Tran said. “You get an idea, it’s there, you take it and then you build on it.”
Despite being all too familiar with the inevitable challenge of artist’s block, Tran is also accustomed to the persistence required to overcome the block and let his creativity flow.
“There’s never a time to give up,” Tran said. “If I’m challenged, or if there are limits, I always try to push beyond that.”