jrowe

Seasons and Reasons

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I wrote this poem as a reflection on my day-to-day life. I often feel anxious about my future and at times I feel overwhelmed, as if my life is a constant performance that I have to keep up with, even when I’m burnt out.
This poem is about the small moments in life that give me hope and keep me from spiraling. Whether it’s laughing with friends or a kind word from a stranger, all it takes is a few little joys to take me out of my own thoughts and remind me find meaning in each present moment.

How many times could you use the broken shards of a mirror to make new ones until you can’t anymore?

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I would’ve never come so far if I didn’t have the support of those around me, so that’s my word. I’m every drop of blood that came before me, the good, bad, and ugly. And like each person before me thought, I think I’m going to be the drop to change it all for those who come after me. And maybe I won’t cross continents to give my kids a better shot at life, but maybe I’ll be the one who opens a conversation about mental health. The poem is about the struggle between identity and inheritance: nature vs nurture. Do we decide who we get to be, or do we have to live with the code programmed within us because that’s who we are? I don’t know, and I don’t know when I will know, but I know that the accountability of my actions doesn’t escape me and land on my parents. The structure of the poem mirrors this fragmentation. Short, broken lines and repeated phrases reinforce emotional instability and confusion. Dare I say there’s fear in repeating unhealthy patterns due to developed self-awareness? It’s like a kaleidoscope, the poem; it changes messages depending on how you look at it. The best thing you could tell me is that you see a different perspective through these same words. Because my word isn’t yours, even if it’s the same one.

A Body of My Own

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This artwork is about how I’d like to sculpt the body I wish I had. Since my transition, I’ve experienced gender dysphoria because my body doesn’t look like I think it should. However, I’ve come to be comfortable in my own body while also knowing there is hope of gaining muscles and getting top surgery.

Frozen In Fear

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My artwork reflects the fear and uncertainty many immigrant communities are experiencing today due to increased immigration enforcement and the expansion of ICE operations. The person trapped inside the ice cube represents individuals and families who feel stuck, emotionally frozen by fear, and unable to live freely in places they call home. The ICE officers surrounding the ice cube symbolize the pressure and control that make this fear inescapable. Inside the cube, are images of family, school, and childhood that is at risk. The cracks in the ice suggest that although this fear is real, transformation is possible. ‚ÄúNo one should live frozen in fear‚Äù, is the message at the heart of my work. It’s a call for awareness. Every human should have the right and freedom to live the way they want to and go wherever, without constant fear being separated from the life they have built.

Twisted Silence

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This art piece is drawn using black ballpoint pens, red colored pencils, and yellow tape. I wish to explore the invisible pressures placed on young people nowadays to stay silent about their mental health struggles due to certain cultures and familial beliefs. The red strings and the hands represent the stigma and the unspoken pain passed from generation to generation until it binds the individual and stops them from proceeding. I drew the surrounding hands to symbolize society, family, peers, and internalized voices that are shaping emotional expression and repression. Despite the negative tension, I wish that the threads can also suggest connection to the viewers, emphasizing that what binds us down can also be remade into understanding and support.

Separation

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My piece is inspired by current events taking place within my community. The ongoing ice raids happening in the US have been separating Hispanic families and I want my art to combat the dehumanization immigrants have to regularly face. I want the viewer to especially notice the emotion within the young girl’s face as she watches her family being separated. My piece is a dual perspective that gives insight to the girl’s emotion and to the situation unfolding. I want to convey feelings of sadness and loss as this is a very real reality for many families in the US. My piece is about seeing the emotion in people and that family stands at the root of what I believe America represents.

Another detail I also included was adding monarch butterflies which are often used as a common symbol for migrants. These butterflies have lines connecting them which I also use to connect the family members. The tie breaking between the mother, daughter, and father represents the separation.

Breathe

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My entry is about the importance of taking a moment to breathe when life feels overwhelming. The piece represents how many boys and young men often feel pressure to stay quiet about their emotions or handle struggles on their own. By focusing on the simple act of breathing, the artwork encourages people to slow down, process what they are feeling, and recognize that asking for help is not a weakness. The message of the piece is that mental health matters, and everyone deserves space to express emotions, connect with others, and feel supported.

Piecing Together My Life

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This artwork is about my mom supplying me with the parts and opportunities to piece together my life. My mom has given me countless support and encouragement that have helped me fight for what I like. It‚Äôs also important that she isn’t piecing together my own life but simply gifting me pieces for me to put it/me all together.

CONNECT

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Men’s mental health tends to be neglected in society because they feel that it isn’t masculine or strong to reach out to people when they are struggling. They are less likely to have access to support when they need it because of the stigma around therapy and talking to friends about how they are feeling. In this piece, a man is falling from a building but is caught by someone else because he chose to reach out.

What Did You Do To Me?

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Because the original version was nearly 6 minutes long, I submitted a shortened version of my original song “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?” The Monthly Prompt asked us to create a song either about mental health or our experience with mental health, and I chose the latter. Music has always been an outlet for me to speak on things that have hurt me or that continue to hurt me. This song specifically is about my religious trauma, and how I felt growing up in an extremely hostile environment as a queer person. Growing up being taught to believe that my feelings as a queer person were evil made accepting myself and being comfortable in my skin an impossible task, even now I struggle to unlearn that toxic belief system. I made this song as to let these loud, angry emotions out, allowing the anger, the sadness, and the desperation build into a wall of sound that encapsulated my feelings perfectly. In the lyrics, I speak on both the inconsistencies of my religions beliefs and my belief that love cannot be demonized no matter who it is shared by. At the end of the song I take responsibility for the pain I am feeling and am choosing to instead focus on healing than to point the blame at an entity and restart the cycle of hate that has gone on for longer than I have lived. I choose to believe that if there is a God, it is not as unkind as we all think it is. Simply, in this song, I wanted to bring awareness to the homophobic and transphobic rhetoric all over the country, and ask others, including myself, to not turn our hate into anger but instead heal.