When life gives you lemons, make lemonade–and that’s what 15-year-old Mya Parker did after sustaining an ACL tear in September. Being an avid athlete, the healing period for the ACL left Parker having to find other activities to replace sports.
The Zachary High freshman turned to her love of art and investments and creating non-fungible tokens (NFTs). By combining her interests and selling her drawings on marketplaces, she’s profited well over $10,000.
“I would never had the time to do all this before I got hurt,” said Mya, sitting back in her mother’s real estate office. “It’s allowed me to create a living. Well, not quite a living.”
NFTs are digital objects, such as artwork or video clips, with digital certificates of authenticity attached to them. Because the ownership is attached to the NFT and stored on computers worldwide, it is impossible to lose or destroy the purchase.
Parkers drawings are listed as high as $140,000 on the NFT marketplace OpenSea. Outside of sports, Parker’s interest in the arts stems back to third grade, where she was a part of the talented art program in the Zachary school district.
Im Mya Parker heres a thread about me 🧵 pic.twitter.com/t6xtxsDPzs
— myaparker.eth (@myalparker) January 8, 2022
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According to The Advocate, Parker’s grandfather sparked her investing interests when he took her to buy gold a few years ago and gifted her stocks for receiving good grades.
Thank You @theadvocatebr for spending time with me and mom so that I can share my story to inspire others! I’m super grateful to be featured in The Advocate https://t.co/rVUavNwz27
— myaparker.eth (@myalparker) March 15, 2022
After being inspired by another young lady she read about who had stock in Coca-Cola, Parker also found her passion for investments.
Candace Temple, Parker’s mother, shared her daughter would rush home to check how her shares did that day.
“She’s been able to learn about the economy, learn about finance and it’s allowed her to use her gifts,” Temple said. Getting involved in investing and NFTs has also allowed Mya to take risks at an early age, she said, which is good because people are leery about taking risks as they get older.”
Supporting her daughter’s journey, Temple brought her an iPad as a gift to improve her artwork and expand her skills.
“My art comes from two ways. Sometimes I have an experience, and I create something from that experience,” Parker said. “And sometimes, I doodle when I’m bored.”
“The key is to do a lot of different things when you are young and see what you are good at doing, Parker said. “It doesn’t matter what you are as long as your heart is good,” she said. “You’ll find out what you are good at.”
Parker is proving there is capitol to grab if you know how to get it!.
