Art

A Kind Older Sister

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I drew a picture of my older sister. She has inspired me. She has supported me. And she has used her incredible influence for good. I went into freshman year of high school practically knowing no one. I had transferred from a charter school to a traditional public school that was in another district. Predictably, I felt extremely lonely, and the experience was all but overwhelming to me. However, my older sister who I’ve depicted here, was a junior at the time, and she watched out for me. She put her best efforts forward to be there for me and to be my friend. She introduced me to her friends and helped me integrate into this new school. I thank her for that, and her kind actions mean so much to me.

Growing Flower Tree

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“When a plant is well nurtured, it starts to grow. Something that helped me bring back hope for the future was speaking affirmative words and phrases before leaving home and before starting anything new.”

Never Too Late

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“My piece addresses the mental health issues of soldiers and veterans. The idea of the well-being of soldiers blossomed from my admiration and concern for my older brother, who is training to become a marine officer. On the battlefield, soldiers suffer from far more than just physical injuries and scars; they are also psychologically wounded often to the point of never being the same. Countless soldiers and veterans suffer from PTSD, depression, alcohol abuse, anxiety, and suicide.”

Music

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”This piece represents the power of music. Specifically, how it can take you to different worlds, somewhat becoming an escape from the stressors of reality. Music for many people, including myself, is very therapeutic and is used as a form of self-care.’’

The Golden Fields

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“My piece represents prejudice and stereotypes following individuals throughout their life. They are not ignorant of the eye, but instead of letting the stereotypes control their life, they keep walking on a path to success. The sunset shows the end of the old day and hopes for a new era with no discrimination.”

Apprehension

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“The painting was done with watercolor first, a medium often associated with tranquility and contentment. The colored pencil on top is scratchy and messy, symbolizing feelings of unease and anxiety. The subject looks away and pulls their hair back to reveal flowers stemming from a scab on her scalp. I’ve always struggled with anxiety physically and mentally. I have a tendency to pick at my scalp whenever I feel anxious, and I wanted to illustrate it in this painting. Watercolors are a familiar medium to me, whereas colored pencils are newer. The red columbine flowers in this painting symbolize anxiety but also fortitude. The person faces the flowers in the background, looking toward a hopeful future.”

Mysteries

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“Mysteries is about a mystery that haunts some of the minds of today, it is a lesser known mystery but a mystery.”

Ambivalent

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“My entry is a poem. It is about on protests that starts with a meaning but slowly it loses its definition. I want to give an insight on my frustration on those protests. There’s no specific protest I’m talking about. I will be talking about how protests start off with a meaning and a demand for a specific change, but that meaning slowly rots away when people who don’t understand the movement join in.”

Light

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“Mental health challenges can be crushing. And the only way out is to get yourself out of that deep, dark hole and rise above it. This work portrays what teenagers need in order to make that step. They need to be able to see that light and that there is a better place after they overcome darkness. If they don’t see the point of persevering against their troubles, they can’t muster the courage to even reach the surface. Thus, the light shining down on this girl surrounded by darkness shows the importance of hope in a person’s world.”

Warmth of a Community

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“In my painting, I wanted to represent hope in a community. The community is represented through warm colors. This gives the idea of a warm and welcoming community. These people are happy and willing to help others in need. Then we have someone who suffers from mental health issues. They are represented with cool colors. The idea behind this is that the darkness surrounds the person to the point where it feels suffocating. I wanted to represent mental health issues in this way because if a person doesn’t reach out for help, whether it’s in a community or just a singular person, one can struggle so much to the point where it feels like they are trapped in the darkness.”