In 2021, during COVID, Yazmin Derrickson was listening to ‘Optimism’ by Sounds of Blackness on repeat while her son attended virtual school. After his teacher assigned him to write a short story, he stepped away frustrated about the assignment and about the song she kept replaying in the background. “Why do you keep listening to that? What does optimism even mean?” he asked. Yazmin explained what optimism looks like in everyday life and said, “You have an assignment "let’s write about it.” Together, they created a story with two characters one optimistic and one pessimistic to show how mindset shapes experience. Theo, the main character of The Gloomy Prince, was inspired directly by her son. What began as a virtual school assignment became the foundation for The Gloomy Prince and eventually NuKid Transformations a series helping children name feelings, shift thinking, and grow through everyday moments.