My mental health has affected me for most of my life. I was diagnosed with depression at the age of 11. Starting at a very young age I was exposed to many traumatic events. When I was about three years old, my father would mentally, emotionally, and physically abuse my mom. I remember hearing it and witnessing it often. That traumatic experience was a lot for me and gave me PTSD which has stuck with me to this day. Later on, in that same year, my father got into a car accident that gave him a traumatic brain injury. This brain injury resulted in heaps of memory loss. He had to relearn how to walk, talk, swallow, and pretty much every other physical function. As years went on he was still just as abusive just less physically because he had less strength to do so. In middle school is when my mental health was at its lowest. I would have kids nearly every day tell me to end my life, and then tell me it was a joke. These so-called jokes affected me so much to the point of me harming myself daily. Eighth grade was the worst, more kids realized their comments affected me. I had kids tell me that I would not make it to high school because I was too stupid. As messed up as it is when kids found out that I harmed myself that was the base of all of their jokes. They would tell me to cut down my arm not across it to “more effectively harm myself”. Looking back on these comments now, I'm completely bewildered by these children thinking that it was funny to say these things and that teachers felt no need to intervene because “they're just kids” and “they're just joking”. I had kids tell me I was fat, often. I was one of the biggest girls in middle school. I even had my father tell me I was a fat cow and should stop eating. This developed the beginning of my eating disorder journey. I became highly bulimic for almost 3 years. I'd go to the school bathroom and would throw up every day, even at home Id throw up anything I ate to not feel full. After years of purging I realized that it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do so I stopped throwing up. I began to starve myself for long periods, to the point that id get used to the hunger pains. I neglected to eat for so long that when I ate food It would hurt my stomach instantly like it was some foreign body to my stomach. After almost 4 years of high school, I still haven't fully recovered from my eating disorder and at times it's still active. When I get down In a bad spot I deprive myself of food because I feel miserable when I'm sad and I eat. Even though I still struggle with these disorders I'm improving myself slowly, one day at a time. After eighth grade, I decided I would not continue at that school anymore because it was hurting me more than helping me. So I got a letter from Oak Hill High School that permitted me to go to their school without me living in their district that was truly the best thing that it happened to me in years. I am a senior in high school now at Oak Hill and I feel like I am the best version of myself and that makes me happy. I am 2 years and 3 months clean from self-harm and I'm so proud of that. I have supportive and kind friends, and teachers who believe in me, that's a feeling that I haven't had for so long that it brings me the most happiness. Now That I'm in a better place mentally I'm super careful about who I let into my life and who I deem as friends. I've lost so many relationships due to me being unstable, now I'm very careful of who I talk to and who I am myself around. I aspire to be a social worker and help any child under the age of 18 get to a better spot in life. I had a case manager when I was 13-14 and she inspired me to want to do the same. I want to do this because I want other children my age to have access to resources that I did not have access to. I want them to feel heard, needed, and cared about because that's so important in life to feel those things. I believe that any child who is going through trauma or mental distress should have access to the necessary resources to pull through and become their happiest self. That is truly my goal.

The world around us can be so inspiring. From all the flowing organic shapes to all the vibrant colors in the sky. The world is so inspiring because it is so beautiful. The brightness of the stars brings out the blue in the sky and the setting of the sun makes every shade of red, yellow, pink, and orange imaginable. I specifically love sunrises and sunsets for their variety in color. For most of my paintings, I have original references. I take photos of the most beautiful sky settings and paint the most beautiful ones. In one of my pieces, I used about every color of the rainbow because the sky truly had all those colors in it. The pretty colors our world can make is why everything around us is so inspiring. The world is beautiful enough for me to be inspired to recreate its beauty, so people will be able to see the gorgeous masterpiece that is the world we live in. :) The first piece is on a 19 by 21-inch canvas. The medium used is acrylic. Is a painting of a sunset in late summer 2021. The second is an 18 by 12-inch piece of paper. The medium uses is chalk pastels. Sunset in late summer 2021 at Annabassacook lake. The third piece is a 4 by 6-inch canvas. The medium used is acrylic. A painting of a tree on a hill after the sun had set. p.s. all of these pieces look much better in person. But the view from my phone camera will have to do

I first fell in love with art in 6th grade. I entered a deep depression in middle school from 6th through 8th grade and I had a hard time trying to dig myself out of the dark void my mind was in. Art opened a new door for me. For me, art was a way of me getting my feelings out without hurting myself or breaking anything. Every color was a different feeling and every image would have some unknown meaning to others. My signature medium is acrylic and my style is sunsets and sunrises. The appearance of the sun when it's about to hide away or about to appear is such a beautiful sight to me. I like painting such settings because I relate to them so much. With the amount of color and light and dark contrast, they represent me so well. I'm a very colorful person but I black it out most of the time because I don't want people to perceive me differently. You see, if I went out in public in lots of colors may see me just like anyone else, and id blend in. I have no desire to blend in, I want to stick out like a sore thumb. I also dont want to be read like a book so my sence of style is simple but bold. So when people want to know more about me they have to ask questions and figure me out, assuming will get you no where with me. My favorate artist is Gabbie Hannah for many reasons. She is truly my idle in a sence that she has everything ive ever wanted and is evrything ive ever wanted to be. Gabbie Hannah makes paintings in her own abstract and twisted style but she also makes music. Often times she will combine her art and music together like making a painting for the cover for every single relised. However, this is not how I descoved her. I first found Gabbie on youtube posting short funny videos called vines. I watched her on youtube for years after that and watched her change and grow as a person. After some time she has mentally and physically improved herself to her own sadisfaction. She helped me overcome how I see my own body, mind, and soul. As she physically improved herself she shared more of her desire to write her own music even when the media was against it. I always supported her, I was there for the upsising and development of The Gabbie Show and the downfall of her youtuble channel in recent years. Ive followed allong every step of they way and now despite what anyone thinksof her she continues to make her art and produce her music because it makes her happy. That is why Gabbie Hannah is my faverate artist and truly my greatist inspiration.