I felt free cruising down the highway, windows rolled down as my mother hummed the song on the radio. It was a girl’s trip to Savannah, just me and my mom and my excitement was overflowing as the wind danced around me. When the deafening sound of the wind ceased and the adrenaline in my veins wore off, I found the blood rushing to my face and my chest slowly getting heavier as I was embarrassed to do anything that seemed too “touristy” in the city I was literally touring. As I walked across the street, worried if people would stare at the way I walked or my clothes or hair, I lost myself entirely in a void of embarrassment and fear. My mind betrayed me into submission on a trip where I was supposed to be making lifelong memories. Experiences similar to this have built up in my life for as long as I can remember. Social anxiety caused my younger self to give up nearly every opportunity that could’ve changed my life. The turning point that transformed me from a conservative, skittish kid into my current self was when art entered my life. I began drawing in middle school as the hard transition made way for my creativity to shine. The process of putting pencil on paper, spending hours mastering a new technique, and replicating the same structures a million times to get it just right was therapeutic for me. It allowed me to take my mind off of what people around me thought of my clothes or walk and into what I thought of the world. The ultimate turning point, changing me into the confident person I am today, was the audition I did to enter the art high school in my area. I had prepared for months, taking lessons and constantly drawing more and adding to my portfolio, just to attempt entry to what would have previously been too intimidating of a school. The audition put me way outside of my usual comfort zone of doodling in my sketchbook for my eyes only. This time, I had to draw directly from life with tens of other students around me. I may have been fearful and struggling to get through, but still I did it. That is what art has done for me. It has allowed me the energy to not give up on my dreams. Now as I’ve matured into my art, painting has become my medium of choice as I’ve been able to show my personality and thoughts through vibrant colors and mark making you could’ve never seen come from me as a child, scared of walking down the street.

I felt free cruising down the highway, windows rolled down as my mother hummed the song on the radio. It was a girl’s trip to Savannah, just me and my mom and my excitement was overflowing as the wind danced around me. When the deafening sound of the wind ceased and the adrenaline in my veins wore off, I found the blood rushing to my face and my chest slowly getting heavier as I was embarrassed to do anything that seemed too “touristy” in the city I was literally touring. As I walked across the street, worried if people would stare at the way I walked or my clothes or hair, I lost myself entirely in a void of embarrassment and fear. My mind betrayed me into submission on a trip where I was supposed to be making lifelong memories. Experiences similar to this have built up in my life for as long as I can remember. Social anxiety caused my younger self to give up nearly every opportunity that could’ve changed my life. The turning point that transformed me from a conservative, skittish kid into my current self was when I started putting my creative passions at the forefront of my life. The transition from elementary school to middle school marked a significant change in my life. I finally got to decide where I was going to go, and in a burst of excitement, I chose to attend a school specifically for its choir program. By the 7th grade, I began putting my passions before my fears by auditioning for a state-wide choir competition. Singing was always special to me; it felt like I was free of every worry and all I could hear were the gentle melodies skipping around my ears. When my teacher recommended this to me, however, I was adamant that I couldn’t. The pit in my stomach grew and butterflies fluttered throughout my body, but after thorough convincing, I agreed. Before long, I found myself auditioning in a room full of strangers. When I got my acceptance letter, I was surprisingly overjoyed to now be set to sing in a choir in front of hundreds of people. I had just sung with my full chest in front of a group of professional singers, who was I to be embarrassed to walk down the street anymore? Choir didn’t follow me into high school; however, by this point, my world had opened thanks to what I had accomplished in choir. Now in this new school, I moved beyond my fears, and into myself, now as a visual artist. I finally found friends who were just as passionate, resilient, and nervous as I was, and by junior year, I wasn’t the same person who was once nervous to cross the street. I wanted to do something with my art, something that would create change, so I found a way. I joined my local social justice action committee, and it was like something clicked inside of me. Everyone was just as driven, creative, and determined about organizing as I had been for art. I got to use my artistic talent to create graphics and posters for the sake of organizing. It’s an experience I will never forget and at this point in my life, it continues to be the biggest physical manifestation of my hard work overcoming anxiety. The challenges I've faced, and obstacles I've overcome through my creativity have led me to now be pursuing my passions at its fullest as an artist at an art college I never could've dreamed of getting into 5 years ago.

Thousands of oyster shells dug into my flip-flops as I walked the trail. It was a path I had walked a hundred times before, but every time it felt like an adventure. My mom used to take me and my brother out to a nature preserve or the beach every week during the summer. We would walk down the rocky trails of the Timucuan Preserve, lined with thousands of oysters, for hours during those months. This is the kind of childhood I had; full of native plants And birds, the sounds of the ocean, and the shade of palm trees. That is what I would say if I didn’t also live in the largest city in the U.S. While I did enjoy sunny days under palm trees and on sandy beaches, I also remember the bustling streets of downtown Jacksonville. I remember the smell of funnel cake as we walked around the fair and looking up at towering buildings, seemingly reaching the heavens. I grew up between two worlds. Was I simply a city girl in a sea of millions, or something more complicated? This question guided my favorite piece; Florida Girl. I wanted to capture this sense of duality I lived in by depicting the swamps, wildlife, and preserves of Florida along with the heavily industrialized and populated city I grew up in. I use vibrant and exaggerated colors to present the idealistic view of Florida I remember fondly growing up, contrasted with the sharp angles of the city seen in the map behind me. I often used references from the “Florida’s Fabulous” book series to guide my ideas and get inspiration directly from our natural landscape, animals, and plants. To express this interconnectedness I felt between the ideal, picturesque version of Florida and our natural features, with the diversity of the city I grew up in, I blended my self-portrait into the map background, literally becoming part of the city, as the birds overtake me and cloud my view. The piece helped me delve deeper into what living in Florida meant to me, exploring my connection to the state, and recognizing that Florida is more than just the “Sunshine State.” It is my home; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Along with my own experiences, I was often inspired by animation, documentaries, and artists who depicted their own scenes of Florida or the south. A main inspiration of mine was The Princess and the Frog, which utilizes rich, vibrant colors and a cartoon style to show off the natural landscape of Louisiana. This shows up in my work through the bright colors and exaggerated features I decided to use, both for the figure and the birds. Creating my piece with these different inspirations in mind allowed me to stay focused on my meaning, while also frequently experimenting with medium, texture, and style, ultimately strengthening and unifying the painting.

Thousands of oyster shells dug into my flip-flops as I walked the trail. It was a path I had walked a hundred times before, but every time it felt like an adventure. My mom used to take me and my brother out to a nature preserve or the beach every week during the summer. We would walk down the rocky trails of the Timucuan Preserve, lined with thousands of oysters, for hours during those months. This is the kind of childhood I had; full of native plants and birds, the sounds of the ocean, and the shade of palm trees. That is what I would say if I didn't also live in the largest city land wise in the U.S. While I did enjoy sunny days under palm trees and on sandy beaches, I also remember the bustling streets of downtown Jacksonville. I remember the smell of funnel cake as we walked around the city fair and looking up at towering buildings, seemingly reaching the heavens. I grew up between two worlds. Was I simply a city girl in a sea of millions, or something more complicated? I wanted to capture this sense of duality I lived in by depicting the swamps, wildlife, and preserves of Florida along with the heavily industrialized and populated city I grew up in. I use vibrant and exaggerated colors to present the idealistic view of Florida I remember fondly growing up, contrasted with the sharp angles of the city seen in the map behind me. I often used references from the "Florida's Fabulous" book series to guide my ideas and get inspiration directly from our natural landscape, animals, and plants. To express this interconnectedness I felt between the picturesque version of Florida and our natural features, with the diversity of the city I grew up in, I blended my self-portrait into the map background, literally becoming part of the city, as the birds overtake me and cloud my view. The piece helped me delve deeper into what living in Florida meant to me, exploring my connection to the state, and recognizing that Florida is more than just the "Sunshine State." It is my home; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Along with my own experiences, I was often inspired by animation, documentaries, and artists who depicted their own scenes of Florida or the south. A main inspiration of mine was The Princess and the Frog, which utilizes rich, vibrant colors and a cartoon style to show off the natural landscape of Louisiana. This shows up in my work through the bright colors and exaggerated features I decided to use, both for the figure and the birds. Creating my piece with these different inspirations in mind allowed me to stay focused on my meaning, while also frequently experimenting with medium, texture, and style, ultimately strengthening and unifying the painting.