jrowe

Reflection

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Growing up, the number of Chinese kids at my school could be counted on one hand. I knew I was different, but I yearned so badly to conform. I refused to learn Chinese writing, I brought exclusively “American” food for lunch, and I never ever spoke a word of Mandarin in front of my elementary classmates. It wasn’t until my family moved to where we are now, where the Asian population accounts for a quarter of my school’s population, did I learn to accept and celebrate my family’s culture. My new friends were actually interested in Chinese culture, shared parts of their own culture, and helped me realize that being Chinese-American was nothing to be ashamed of. There have also been many Chinese and Asian community leaders that I met throughout my community involvement, showcasing that the stereotypically “meek” race is capable of being strong leaders. As a leader on multiple fronts myself, their work is very inspiring. The result of these experiences is that, I have grown an air of confidence in proclaiming that I am a Chinese-American girl. This year, at my senior prom, I will don a traditional Chinese qipao, which I have portrayed myself wearing in my painting. Girls before me inspired me to obtain the traditional garb, and hopefully, my dress this year will inspire other young girls to flaunt their own traditions in the future. The Asian community has pushed me to be unapologetically Chinese, with the security of an entire community behind me. And so unlike Mulan, when I look into the mirror, I know exactly who that girl staring back at me is; an unwavering Chinese-American who is proud to be “more than one”.

Like Autumn Leaves

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For this month’s theme of “More than one”, I wanted to create a piece that expresses my personal experience with being mixed-race, Japanese and African-American. It features a portrait of my father and I during a Japanese holiday called “Shichi-go-san” which takes place in the Fall, with a gradient of Autumn leaves falling in the background. The levels and transitional shades in the gradient symbolizes how mixed-race people shouldn’t be put into limiting, harmful boxes and labeled as one or the other, but instead be acknowledged as both, or “More than one.”

The King of the Living

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This is a song that I wrote that shares the hope that I have in Jesus Christ. I share my state of mind before accepting Him, the hopelessness I felt. Then I share my life change and the peace and hope Christ made for me in my life.

The Eye Mountain

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My drawing is about the way we see nature and the way we see the world overall. I feel strong when I’m near nature because it is peaceful and I can think more clearly.

A Beautiful Mind

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I wanted to create an art piece that displayed what I’ve learned about Mental Health in my Leadership class so I painted what I’ve filled my mind with! I know I have help from my school and family, and I know that beautiful things can come from seeking help.

First I’m Human

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In this submission, I wanted to show how I can be more than one especially if it involves my race. I’m Mexican-American and have always been torn apart by both nationalities and I wanted to express how it impacts me and how I feel about it.

Proud to be Different

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My entry is about students at my school and the diversity that we have. We are all different and we are proud of it. We are “more than one” but we are still together and we support each other.

Changes

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Throughout my school years I have struggle myself with people putting labels on me: I’m the SPED kid, I’m not able to do this or hearing I can’t do that or complete a task because of my challenges with ADHD. I also experienced recently cultural discrimination at school by peers because of being Latina, because of my parents immigrants roots, or because I’m an English Learner still at school. When I worked on this piece, I just wanted to let my feelings and emotions out, and let the world and myself know that I’m free of labels, I can be more than 1 thing, I can be so many things and I can be good at them. I’m aware of my challenges and labels don’t define me.

Dandelions

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In my design I wanted to show that there is more than one way to look at something. In life we can choose to focus on the positive or we can focus on the negative. Every day is an opportunity to see the good.

Stronger Together

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Our piece is a visual and interactive art piece which is documented as a single photo collage for the purposes of judging. The piece consists of a path covered with chalk footprints as well as quotes that exemplify the themes of hope and justice. The mission of our organization is to provide mental health support in a youth-driven, community based manner, so here we focused on emphasizing the importance of unity and community to create hope and justice. Every trail of footprints represents a member of our community who worked on the project, building and walking the path of hope together. The quotes we chose were relevant to individuals and the group as a whole, and were intended to reflect our sentiments on mental health. The piece serves as a reminder to us that we should always be hopeful because there is a large, passionate community around us, and that together we can create our own justice by breaking down the stigma around mental health. We hope that others take away the same message, and we created the piece so that it is visible from the sidewalk to passerby.