Lionz Alliance – Florida Fine Arts Scholarship

My parents moved to Florida when I was around 5 years old for the better opportunities that Florida had, and eventually, we found ourselves in the ever-growing roots of Sanford, where there are plenty of other families and friends who have similar experiences. In my neighborhood are mostly families and older folk, lots of teenagers who go to my school's rivaling school. If you drive a little way down, you can find local-owned restaurants, thrift stores, small businesses, and chains that locals have made their own. There's a store that sells produce, a store that sells soul food, a tire store that needs a good cleaning, a popular gas station, and older houses hidden through the trees. You see abandoned houses, well-loved houses, forgotten houses, broken houses, and occupied houses. You see those who were forgotten on the sides of roads; business professionals walking their way up the streets; golden cars and cars that should be illegal to drive, but are nonetheless holding on. You see the newest residents moving into another cookie-cutter home, and those leaving the home they love the most. Someone just graduated, someone just passed. Drive further and there are the gated communities, those who try not to think they still live here. There's the town hall, the river, the greatest pizza on Earth, a thrift shop you haven't stepped into for so long, and the office of a therapist. You find the library, the post office, another post office, and a mall. The mall is almost forgotten, but you can still find your friends there, we haven't given up on it even though it is the worst; the escalators are always broken, and the air conditioning is probably too expensive to run. It has a small bakery with the best sugar cookies. The people are just as interesting. There's an employee who you've seen since the beginning of your artistic journey, always wishing you the best. You stumble into your friend again, and another friend, who are both so different but are also friends. Lots of people here come from different places, have different faces, and are as interesting as the stories they tell. Someone is a little full of themselves; someone is a little humble. Someone has struggled with homelessness; one is in the best of homes. Someone dresses their best every day, dressed in their cutest clothes; others don't care as much, and some don't have as much of a wardrobe. The guys at my school who look like they are 23, but barely hanging on to 17. Girls with long lashes, embracing their power. The ones we don't know are still deserving of our love. As a mixed, short girl in America, I have never felt alienated in this place. Diverse, as they call it, is what we are. My artwork is inspired by the diversity of where I live. I have been taught that everything is worth appreciating, and appreciating is what I shall do. In my work, I focus on diversity, not just in skin but in quirks and mannerisms and laughter and joy, celebrations and honesty. Uniqueness is the norm here, and therefore my style evolved to be as unique as I am encouraged and loved to be. Unfortunately, in our world, uniqueness and diversity is still not celebrated as much as it should be, as much as we do. In my work, I create a world similar to this, embracing the love that I have for this little slice of normalcy and creating something that everyone can see in themselves and relate to, showing the possibilities.