text: ***There are some derogatory terms used, however, they are not meant to insult or degrade any person or people*** Jackson walked into the banquet hall with his wife, hand in hand, so excited to be accepting an award for the work that he had put so many years into. When he first met Veva he had been a sophomore at Buick University studying architectural design. His dream had always been to design and build fascinating buildings that would become famous throughout the world. He hoped that one day people from other countries would seek him out for innovative and originally designed buildings. After dating Veva for about six months they decided to move in together. With both of them being students and wanting to move out of student housing they figured if they were able to share some expenses they would both be better off financially, cutting down on student loans; there was no point in paying for two rental properties when they spent all their time together anyhow. When they finally settled into an apartment together, Veva and Jackson were given the opportunity to learn more about each other which ostensibly allowed them to grow closer together. The apartment had two bedrooms so the second bedroom was used as an office for both students. One half of the room was full of books about teaching and education while the other half was full of building materials, tools, and miniature models. Veva had books about child development and learning disorders as she wanted to be a special education teacher one day. Jackson had models and posters displaying some of the most famous buildings in the world. Veva and Jackson supported each other in every possible way. After the end of his Sophomore year, Jackson realized that many of the courses he needed to take were not offered in the fall semester; he would have to wait until the spring semester to fulfill more requirements. In the meantime, he wanted to continue to improve his skills so he sought out other courses that would accentuate the skills he had been learning over the past two years. One course that continued to catch his eye was Interior Design in Scale. Reading about the course he saw that it emphasized the building design that he enjoyed and knew about, but put more stress on being able to scale up or down all of his architectural designs. This could be, in Jackson’s opinion, one of the best accompaniments to his future degree. After taking a full semester of what seemed like miniature world creations, his passion as a child came flooding back and he was reminded of all of the dreams he held growing up. He had been a happy child, able to keep himself busy creating cities for his Matchbox® cars. Sunny days were filled with buildings made of sticks and scrap wood from his dad’s workshop. On rainy days Jackson found building materials in his mom’s home office, using small boxes and tubing to design intricate buildings. The coursework in the fall semester of his junior year brought all of it back and he remembered how happy he had been as a child creating his small worlds. It had been the essence of the miniature building that led him forward to earn a degree in architectural and interior design. “Thank you so much for this opportunity. I honestly never thought I would make it so far and I do feel pride in my accomplishments. This award has been on the horizon leading me forward. I never even thought I could be so creative. Well, what I mean is I didn’t foresee my future in creating miniature worlds. Before speaking further I want to thank my wife, Veva, for her unrelenting patience while I figured all of this out. I would like to say that I think for both of us it has been worth the wait. During my last few weeks of work, my wife let me know that we are going to be parents! I am so grateful for all I have been given and the little life that is coming into our world. Without boring you all with every tiny detail I will start by saying that I never believed I would be standing here accepting an award for my work with miniature building supplies. Since my childhood, I have always been mesmerized by the world of anything miniature. Studying concept design and interior decorating in school was my focus but I never imagined I would hone all my skills down to a 1/24th scale building design. I can’t accept this award without pointing out the other members of my team who have helped get me this far in this miniature world. First, as I mentioned, I must thank my wife for her support, her patience, and her willingness to allow me to pursue my dreams. Along with my wife, I would like to thank my brother Tony for his help in building the business piece of my career. He has had so much patience with me, especially since I had no idea about advertising or marketing. As I continue to pursue my passion I hope that all of my supporters will be here to help me continue to move forward. I especially want to ask all the midgets in the world to let me know what they think about all of my miniatures. What I mean is do they feel comfortable seeing me depict a world from their perspective? Well, that isn’t exactly what I mean. I just want dwarfs to know that I respect them and their little lives, um little worlds. Um, people of short stature must believe that I like them because I like anything miniature. Oh, wow, yeah, um I just want everyone to like small things and that includes small people and their world, which is, of course, bigger than what I build but maybe I will start making things for Little People so they know I’m not patronizing their lives. Um, I love Little People as much as I love my miniature-building business. Okay, thank you. I had better hand the microphone back over to... Jackson and Veva walked out of the banquet hall hand in hand but instead of holding their heads high, full of pride in Jackson’s accomplishments, they walked quickly to their car, anxious to forget this whole night.