The word persistence represents what my life has been. The obstacles I have faced include; being bullied as a child because of my weight, not having a father figure in my life, and battling depression and anxiety. My life is a battle every day. To get past being bullied by my peers, I became resilient to their comments. I Would tell myself that I am enough. I tell myself that others love me for who I am; that I should love myself also. To get past my father not being a part of my life, I grew up. I became more mature than my peers and used this to advance in my life. My anxiety and depression is my biggest challenge yet. I contemplate ending my life too many times to count. I escape by realizing that I have a purpose. With every obstacle I face, I tell myself I can get past it. I am strong. I am beautiful. I am persistent.

From the moment I picked up a pencil, my life altered for the better. When life spirals out of control, I know I can rely on art to make me happy. Art is how I communicate with people without saying a word. I want to build on that feeling of nonverbal communication. I love that I can express my deepest emotions and be understood. Communication has always been difficult for me. I grew up quicker than a child should. Faced with depression and anxiety, I cried myself to sleep every day. I allowed others to dictate my life. I turned back to my love Art began to repair me. I'm slowly escaping my depression. I'm gradually dealing with my anxiety. Art is pushing me to become the woman I always wanted to be. I am young, I am strong, and I am enough. It took me going through everything I went through and reconnecting with art to realize that. of art. Art began to repair me. I'm slowly escaping my depression. I'm gradually dealing with my anxiety. Art is pushing me to become the woman I always wanted to be. I am young, I am strong, and I am enough. It took me going through everything I went through and reconnecting with art to realize that. Although I am an artist myself, this piece by Jessie Lane speaks to me. You can see the pain on her face. Most importantly, you can see her desire to move forward.

Friendship is one of the reasons why I am still here today. My best friend and I have been through a lot together. We found each other when we were in the deepest parts of our depression. We acted as each other's life rafts. Kai was making adjustments in his diet to become vegan. With problems at home, it was difficult to acquire vegan options. I brought food from home to make sure he ate. Then there's my depression. I lost all of my friends and felt that's I was alone. Kai became my best friend. He made sure that I didn't starve myself because of my weight insecurities. He made sure that I didn't lose myself to the darkness inside my mind. He made me realize that I have people who love and care about me. Kai and I have been there for each other for the past seven years. I will be by his side through his top surgery as well as his process of taking testosterone. I will be there for his graduation. I will be there if he starts a family. I know he will be here to see me start my business. He will also be there when I start my family. We are bound to be best friends no matter what.

My turnaround story began with my sophomore year of high school. Someone I know believed that they could assault me. This event changed my entire life. I was afraid of the feeling of touch from anyone. I refused hugs from friends and family. I was a shell of myself. I spoke up about the assault and I was denied justice. As time passed, I began to heal myself. That is when I saw another young woman being assaulted. The same person who assaulted me assaulted her. This time I would fight for our rights. I spoke up against his actions and demanded his punishment. He received a three-day suspension. The suspension to him was more like a holiday. Although he got off easy I protected myself and the young woman from his behavior for the rest of the year. I am proud of speaking up for myself and the young woman. I am proud to not allow him to believe that he got away with what he did.

I did not know that I wanted to be an entrepreneur until I was in the seventh grade. I am passionate about art and I am also passionate about helping others. God, art, and music saved my life. In my seventh grade year, I nearly committed suicide. Hearing the voices in my head, arguing with myself on whether or not I should do it. The past seven years have been the most stressful of my life. I knew that I wanted to help people. Art helps me cope with everything that goes on in my life. Maybe art could help others the same way it helped me. I want to build a safe place for people to come and express themselves. No matter their race, weight, gender identity, background, or situation. This place I will create will allow everyone to be themselves and feel no judgment. All of the anger and frustration of the day can be let out on a canvas. Although this place will be built for everyone, I want to support black people and their mental health. Black people are told that they have to be strong and to let things that bother them go. These values are taught to our black children. Instead of confiding in their parents about their feelings of depression, they instead choose silence. When these black children try to express their feelings, their feelings are shut down. The parents would say that they have nothing to be upset about. They would say that they are not too depressed to play their games. Instead of listening and doing everything they can to provide support for their child, they turn away. These kids are more likely to commit suicide. I want to stop this generational cycle. I want these kids to know that somebody is listening. I want these kids to come to my business and let everything out productively and safely. Shattering the cycle of them joining gangs, committing crimes, running away, or dropping out of school. This place will show them that they can be vulnerable. I went down the road of depression and I made it out. I was fortunate enough to have a place in school where I could be myself and create. Not many people have that privilege. I want to give them that privilege. Making a place where everyone is welcome. A place where you feel heard. A place where you know you are enough.

The experience that shaped me into who I am today is my sexual assault. This assault, happened my sophomore year of high school. I was touched inappropriately and yelled for the person to stop. With thirty spectators or more around me, not one stopped to help. Then it happened again, I was grabbed from behind yelling for the person to stop. Then again no one stoped to help me. My talented art teacher, pushed for me to write a statement and I did. Then again, the school system failed me. Christmas passed, then into New Year, next was summer break and finally back to school again. I saw the same situation happing to another girl by the same guy and I refused to let it pass this time. I talked to a teacher who really cares about the students. I wrote a statement once again but this time, it got to my principal. Something was finally being done to stop him from hurting anyone else. I made a promise to myself, that I would never let anyone else take advantage of me and get away with it again. That I would do everything in my power to protect any woman that feels threatened by a man. I became more aware of my surroundings. I also started to read more into how I can keep myself safe when dealing with potential predators. I learned to not let my assaulter take away the joys in my life. It was hard, but with help I learned how to live again.