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As a teenage girl, staying true to yourself can be a real challenge. With social media expecting you to be perfect, or at least appear so, classmates pressuring you to act the same way they do, and the adults around you having high standards for how you’ll turn out while not being the best examples. Staying true to yourself is being able to dodge these obstacles in order to find who you want to be. The way I dodge them is by reviewing their actions, and seeing if it aligns with my own personal moral code. Beyond that, I reflect to see if I want that energy or those people in my life. Even if they aren’t technically bad people, being able to match my energy is very important to me. I’m not a difficult person to be around, nor do I want to be around difficult people. The company you keep is just as important as personal reflection when it comes to staying true to yourself. This does require you to have a clear understanding of who you are, or who you want to be, but being able to stay that way is the hard part.

Honesty has always been a dice roll for me. Trying to find that equilibrium of not rocking the boat, and making myself feel seen. My grandma has been my biggest help in finding this balance and putting it into my art. She has always been my biggest inspiration and has helped me the most in finding the artist I want to be. Growing up, there was always a competition, between me and my cousins, about who got the most attention. After awhile it gets exhausting to even try because you’re constantly being talked over. But, I vividly remember my grandma always making her presence and opinion known for in any room she walked in. I may not be as brave as her, but I found another way to express how I feel that requires a little less courage. I’ve been drawing all of my life, but I’ve been making art for only three years. I messages, meanings, and thoughts behind each piece or painting that I make. My grandma helped me find my own way to be brave and I thank her for that. After high school I do plan on being a creative director or coordinator for other musicians and artists like myself. I love helping others bring their ideas to life, whether it’s hair, makeup, back drops, or just overall visions. Helping somebody else’s creative is such a fulfilling thing to that I even do it unintentionally now. From helping my friends get ready for dates, to collaborating with my sister on a painting. There are no limits to what I want to do in that field. The main aspect about me that makes me different is the many different avenues I express my artistic abilities in. I don’t just draw and paint; I act, preform, do makeup, fix my own hair, redecorate. I’ve never been one to block myself from finding a new thing to become great at, and I don’t plan on starting now. I’m a really determined artist, I’ve gone through a lot just in these three short years in high school but I don’t plan on stopping myself any time soon.