jrowe

2023

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“This illustration highlights my most basic hopes for 2023 by using four mini drawings compiled into one larger drawing. The first section represents my hope to stay healthy throughout 2023, as I like to play beach volleyball and run on the beach. The second is about keeping my grades up and meeting my goal to get the same grades as previous years. The third is to be able to connect and grow closer with my friends. The last section is to be more spiritually active and to read the bible. I currently don’t, but the pastors keep emphasizing the importance of reading the Bible, so I hope to try it soon. I embedded the number “2023” in the artwork to be more specific and convey meaning more obviously.”

Character Over Stereotypes

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“For 2023 I wish that stereotypes stop defining who we are as a person, and we are defined by our own selves no matter what ethnicity. I wanted to include some of the most common stereotypes that have been used in the past couple years and put them up on a cork board because I know that cork boards/any type of board are some of the most common ways to spread helpful/encouraging words. An example could be billboards which are set up on streets giving out helpful information to people as they drive by, or even motivational writings.”

The Hopeful Year

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“My submission represents my hopes for 2023. I’m graduating high school during the 2023 year, so I wanted to emphasize this as the focus point since it will be the biggest accomplishment that I will soon experience. Growing up and graduating high school can carry a lot of fear and anxiety for me, so I decided that I should reverse these feelings and instead be excited and hopeful towards the bright future. In my painting I decided to draw myself in my future graduation gown holding a diploma with a green ribbon. I decided that the ribbon should be green because it represents mental health awareness. I’ve struggled with poor mental health for a large part of my life so one of my other hopes for 2023 would be taking more care of myself and mental health. By becoming more aware of my own needs, I’m hoping for my mental health to gradually become better this year. I surrounded myself in my painting with plants to show my hopes for growth. I will be going through a lot of changes, and I especially hope that I grow due to these changes. Specifically, the flowers beneath me are daffodils which symbolize new beginnings. The 2023 year for me will be filled with new beginnings and I’m hopeful that it will bring me a new outlook on life, success with college, and a healthy mind. I’m very hopeful for this upcoming year, and I wanted to show this as best as I could through my piece.”

Memories

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“For my entry, I wanted to show that I am looking forward to the new memories I will make in 2023. I wanted to have photos represent the memories because I feel like photos are connected to memories – people take photos to remember certain events in their lives. Each photo shows my overall feelings about each year so I made the photo for 2023 really bright because I’m hoping that it will be better than previous years. During the pandemic I couldn’t make the same type of memories that I had in the years before. I was stuck at home and couldn’t really hang out with anyone except for my immediate family and even then, we couldn’t do the same things we used to. I’m really hoping for this year to be good, especially because I will be graduating this year.”

A Fresh Start

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“In this entry, I opened a veil that concealed the events that drowned humanity in despair. I wanted to show the cuts we were given as well as the band-aids we put on. In this entry, I reviewed the events of 2020 and how they impacted children like me. While 2020 was a rough year, it was also one where I bonded with people who felt the same kind of pain as me. I never talked about how I felt but working on this project has let me write out how I viewed these events and how I felt about it.”

New Year, New Me.

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“My piece is meant for the monthly prompt category, which could have been interpreted in different ways. The route I went with has changed because for the new year, I wanted to be a newer, better version of myself. As someone who feels like they don’t fit the binary, I’ve struggled with my gender identity a lot. It’s hard to feel right in my own skin and I’ve felt miserable sometimes due to this feeling of being out of place in the world. My piece is meant to be a symbolic version of this change of identity, which has the person in the drawing cutting their hair. The cutting of the hair represents them taking a step towards the change they want—the step I want to take to reaffirm my identity. This piece shows that I want to make the metaphoric move in feeling like my true self in the new year.”

Lost and Found

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“I am currently incarcerated for 6-9 month, detached and lost with no family. I am currently in the system and stumbling from failure to failure. In my journey I am overcoming my obstacle and trying to become a stronger person with purpose. Because of this I my hopes for 2023 is to be released from camp and to get off probation. I want to complete school and I look forward to my bright and beautiful future.”

Metamorphosis

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“My final semester of high school is underway, and graduation rapidly approaches. 2023 is the year I finally leave home and explore the world, through my higher education. 2022 was largely a year of comforts for me; still in the same town, with the same people, and the same routines that I have been living for the past several years. Leaving will bring discomfort, but I know that doing so will allow me to grow into my best self. Many of my peers feel the same way, especially those moving even further away. One of my best friends is planning on moving across the country for college, and despite the sorrow I feel in knowing we will be separated soon, I know that we are all moving on to bigger and better things. This sentiment of shedding old skin is portrayed in my painting through the fading of a high school varsity jacket. In the background, there is also symbolism. To the right, there is scenery from my hometown. To the left, which I am facing in this self-portrait, is the town of my dream college. I look forward to the new experiences that 2023 brings, and the optimistic glow of the painting reflects this. This year, my hope for myself and everyone around me is for us to grow and undergo our own personal metamorphosis into a better version of ourselves.”

My Hope for 2023: Belonging

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“My film submission is titled “Belonging: My Hope for 2023.” As a teenager with muscular dystrophy, I know the isolation kids and teens can feel when they suffer from a disability. This is especially true in high school, when teenagers create new interests and friendships. In the film, I use photographs from my life to show that the disabled can be included as important members of their communities, giving hope to young people with disabilities. I end my film with a quote from Fred Rogers, one of my heroes, on the need for us to share responsibility for others. The narration was done using a voice created by my “eye gaze” computer.”

Molding Yourself

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“We hand sculpted the clay into society’s perfect vision of a man and a woman. We struggle and fight to figure out our place in the world, but we shouldn’t shape ourselves based on the fear and expectation of what other’s want us to be.”