My artwork focuses on the lack of educational opportunities for young farmworkers. I wanted to represent themes of education, health/environmental issues, and social justice for farm workers. As a Latina, I want to highlight some of the struggles in my community and facing people my age.
My drawing represents an exaggerated version of how I feel when I listen to music in my alone time. It makes me very happy and uplifted, it energizes me to get done what I need to do. Music relieves stress and inspires me, which helps my mental health.
My entry for the hope category is to highlight the efforts of firefighters. This month the California fires have destroyed over 10,000 homes and pose a very dangerous risk to the health of communities. These fires are terrifying and have caused so much destruction yet in times like this the most important thing is to have hope. My artwork depicts a home burning and a firefighter putting it out. The firefighter is an array of vibrant colors with a blue aura surrounding him and reflecting on the structure in front of him. This blue is not only meant to be a contrast to the warm colors behind him, it is to represent the power that comes from the strength and courage to help others in such dire times.
“the music flows” and its lyrics detail different ways that music has personally helped me through my own life experiences. I have constantly turned to music as an escape during stressful stretches of school, as well as during heartbreaking family issues and as a way of coping with death. During these times, music has helped remind me to ride with the crashing waves and go with the flow of life. Whenever listening to music, I can feel its therapeutic effects flowing throughout my whole body, relieving me of pain and built-up stresses. As a music student, making music provides me a creative outlet to express my own emotions in ways I’m unable to any other way. While listening to this piece, I hope others are reminded of the vital importance and power that music holds as an art form.
Lyrics:
verse 1:
i feel its power through a beat
gives me hope, when I’m in too deep
i feel its power through heartfelt lines
it’s fueling fire, on my darkest nights
chorus:
the music flows
the music flows
the music flows
the music flows
the music flows
the music flows
verse 2:
it calms me when i’m stressed,
it helps me battle my unrest,
the music makes me feel ok
as I am breathing out,
i let my guards down,
and with the chorus i feel fine
bridge:
woah
the music flows
woah
chorus:
the music flows
the music flows
the music flows
the music flows
the music flows
the music flows
outro:
i can feel my dreams take flight,
a melody that turns dark to light
even in silence, i’m never alone
through a safe place i’ve made my own
the music is me
through music I’m free
My entry is a 60-second video ad for the new Soluna application, encouraging young people to use all its features to develop mental health awareness and resilience.
Having hope is very important in staying positive and lifting up others
My entry is a representation of moments with family that bring people together and impact how we become who we are as people.
At the time of making this art piece. I was in a very hopeless state. I did not feel human and there was something in me that was deemed humane. I woke up many days wishing to not wake up the next, I looked in the mirror and no longer saw a human born into this world. This perpetual nihilism constantly tore down on me not knowing what and who I am due to the pain of having to live the next day. All of a sudden my brother walked into my room. He told me that he was not going to come with me when I was eventually going to leave the school we were in. As heartbroken as I was I remember I did feel something. I felt love. I loved my brother enough to take it up on myself to let him go and not force him to come with me. It was the first time in months I had felt a sense of my humanity. And in feeling that I created this piece on a whim.
It’s another election year, and a report from Rutgers University estimates that over 40 million individuals who are dealing with disabilities are eligible to vote in the United States. Millions more live in a household with a disabled person. Together, disabled Americans and people who live with them make up about one third of the U.S. voting population.
My film deals with the needs of disabled Americans in regards to in home services, affordable housing, accessibility of public spaces, and the need for continued mask wearing by the wider population. During a time when elections are very tight, the disabled community has the power to push politicians to meet their needs.
Life is hard enough, but we have to continue to combat issues that shouldn’t exist to begin with. My submission is about racism.