My most prized possession is this piece I created called “Do All Fairies Have Wings?” It is a lamp with a flat felted base made out of red earthenware, with little clay swirls that represent water; the lampshade itself is an abstract waterspout that cascades around the base. That lamp focuses on a little moss frog that sits on a lilypad, and atop its back rides a little wingless fairy. That fairy has long, vibrant red hair and a musical instrument beside her, resembling my friend, Lily. I lost my friend Lily Ellenberger to her long struggle with depression. Without warning, my whole life was dumped on top of my head. I struggled with thousands of different emotions, which I had no idea how to process. I spent days on end feeling disconnected from my life, her death was the one thing that shattered my sense of immortality. I never realized how fragile our time was and that took a toll on me. I am drawn to a medium such as clay for its calming aspects, it is the one time where I am alone with my thoughts and I can process my feelings through my art. Someone once said to me "Grief is a complicated feeling, there is no easy way to slip that into conversation." and I realized that my art is my way of putting that into conversation.

My most prized possession is this piece I created called “Do All Fairies Have Wings?” it is a lamp with a flat felted base made out of red earthenware, with little clay swirls that represent water; the lampshade itself is an abstract waterspout that cascades around the base. That lamp focuses on a little moss frog that sits on a lilypad, and atop its back rides a little wingless fairy. That fairy has long, vibrant red hair and a musical instrument beside her, resembling my friend, Lily. February 6th, 2023, I lost my friend Lily Ellenberger to her long struggle with depression. Without warning, my whole life was dumped on top of my head. I struggled with thousands of different emotions, which I had no idea how to process. I spent days on end feeling disconnected from my life; I couldn't fathom going to school every day, knowing she couldn't do the same. I couldn't bear the thought that we wouldn't be graduating together. Her death was the one thing that shattered my sense of immortality. I never realized how fragile our time was and that physically took a toll on me, I quit my everyday routines and replaced it with a fight to get out of bed. I am drawn to a medium such as clay for its longevity, when I pour my feelings and thoughts into my work it will forever hold those memories. When I look at my art, I know exactly the emotions I was feeling creating those pieces, and what makes me continue to create art is that I use my art to process my feelings and to connect with others. After talking and making art that related to my grief, I was able to connect with other people. Someone once said to me "Grief is a complicated feeling, there is no easy way to slip that into conversation." and I realized that my art is my way of putting that into conversation. "Do All Fairies Have Wings?" has been put into many art shows. Currently, it is held in UNL's Upcycling exhibition and won an award in the most recent scholastics. My favorite art show it was displayed at was my latest senior show at A&H. I participate in a small focus program called the Arts and Humanities program, a part of Lincoln Public School. It was the first focus program LPS produced; however, it is the most underfunded program in our district. I have been here throughout my high school career, and it has helped contribute to who I am today. I wouldn't have ever taken my art seriously and tried pursuing a career in art without the teachers who surrounded me.

February 6th, 2023, I lost my friend Lily Ellenberger to her long struggle with depression. Without warning my whole life was dumped on top of my head. I struggled with thousands of different emotions which I had no idea how to process. I spent days on end feeling disconnected from my life, I couldn't fathom going to school every day knowing that she wasn't able to do the same. I couldn't bear the thought that we wouldn't be graduating together. Her death was the one thing that shattered my sense of immortality. I never realized how fragile our time was and that physically took a toll on me, I quit my everyday routines and replaced it with a fight to get out of bed. While I couldn't rely on the people in my life who told me "suicide is the coward's way out" and other uncaring words. I took my grief to my art and my process. I was encapsulated by her that semester, almost all my art pieces related to her in some way shape, or form. My most prized piece "Do all Fairies Have Wings?" is a piece I created in her image. It is a lamp with a flat felted base made out of red earthenware, with little clay swirls that represent water, the lampshade itself is an abstract waterspout that cascades around the base. That lamp's focus is on a little moss frog that sits on a lilypad, and on its back rides a little wingless fairy. That fairy has long vibrant red hair with a musical instrument beside her which closely resembles my friend. My intention is that viewers feel calm when looking at this piece; the same way I did when spending time with Lily, a feeling I longed for after her passing. I am drawn to a medium such as clay for its longevity, when I pour my feelings and thoughts into my work it will forever hold those memories. When I look at my art I know exactly the emotions I was feeling creating those pieces and what makes me continue to create art is that I use my art to process my feelings and to connect with others. After talking and making art that related to my grief I was able to connect with other people. Someone once said to me "Grief is a complicated feeling, there is no easy way to slip that into conversation." and I realized that my art is my way of putting it into conversation. While a year has gone by since her passing I am still fueled by her and continue to create art inspired by my grief and loss. I will never understand all the emotions I felt, but I can continue to process that through my art.

Nintendo Land, it was the one of few times me and my brother could sit down and get along while playing on our Wii U, while we often had our father and neighbors come over and play our Wii U, Nintendo Land was OUR game. My brother, Hayden is the complete opposite of me, he grew up playing sports and roughhousing while I grew up playing violin and doing art. One thing we shared in common was our love for video games. My mom and dad both met over an unreal tournament and got married 2 years later. I had a Steam account by the age of 5, and all of our family would play games like Team Fortress and Left for Dead 2. However, even with an age gap of only two years me and brother never seemed to get along. We would physically fight over the TV, remotes, and who could have which character. When it came to Nintendo Land we never fought over who was who. The game we specifically played the most was Pikmin Adventure. Without fail, I was always Captain Olimar while my brother played a large Pikmin. We spent hours and hours going through the levels and walking around the amusement park-themed game. Even though the Wii U wasn't Nintendo's most reputable system, we still went back to play even after the Switch came out. Today me and my brother have grown apart sustainably and rarely play video games together anymore, sitting on the basement floor playing Animal Crossing Sweet Day or Luigi Ghost Mansion is one of my favorite things to rehash with my brother.