Szia! ("Hello" in Hungarian) My name is Kyla Jernigan and I am writing to you from Budapest, Hungary. I am here for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and I have been living here for over five months now. Fulbright is a long-standing program funded by the United States and countries from all around the world to promote cultural understanding and connection. Originally I am from Tallahassee, Florida, but I moved to east Tennessee when I was eight years old. Growing up, I loved watching movies, reading and drawing, and I eventually stared acting in theatre. I was extremely crafty and loved to make things and paint and just get my hands dirty. Eventually that led me to majoring in theatre production at East Tennessee State University.
During college, I was both a costume and makeup designer for theatre and horror short films. These two interests ended up combining to create my passion for monster design; from researching the creature design process for monsters in media to learning about the folklore from around the world that inspire them. I believe that monsters can tell a lot of things about a culture. They represent what people are afraid of, as well as their beliefs, values, and bias. Monsters evolve and adapt to the histories they represent. My favorite example of this is how vampires have narratively changed.
