Art has always been my way of expressing what I couldn’t put into words. However, despite this deep connection, those around me often dismissed it as an impractical or unrealistic path. My love for art was nurtured early on by my mother, who had a talent for crafts, and my father, who had a keen eye for photography. But as my passion grew, I began to notice theirs fade, dimmed by the weight of life’s challenges. Our household was unstable; financial hardship and illness were constant. Eventually, these struggles claimed my mother's life. My father, who had immigrated from Haiti just a year prior, suddenly found himself the primary caretaker. With limited resources and a family to support, he gave up his creative dreams. He hasn’t owned a camera since. Witnessing someone give up their passion in the name of survival left a lasting impression on me. I saw what it meant to sacrifice fulfillment for the illusion of stability. That experience didn’t scare me away from art but motivated me to pursue it with more intention. When I was accepted into a summer pre-college art program with a full scholarship, everything changed. For the first time, I felt the real value of what I loved. The program exposed me to a world of formal art education that was drastically different from what I had at my underfunded school. I didn’t just paint but also worked with ceramics, printmaking, and metalwork, mediums I could never dream of using. It was challenging trying something new, but the joy of creating remained the same. I realized that as long as I was making art, I felt at home. That sense of belonging confirmed that this path wasn’t just about passion but also purpose. This experience deepened my understanding of the role art plays in society. Art isn’t just something to admire; it's a powerful tool for communication, connection, and change. It holds stories, preserves culture, and reflects shared struggles and triumphs. I want my art to do exactly that. My goal is to create work that brings people together, encourages reflection, and tells stories that matter—not just my own, but ones that resonate universally. Much of my work is rooted in personal experience—my family, my background, and the intersections of identity I navigate. But what has surprised me most is how often others find themselves in those pieces, even when their lives look nothing like mine. That’s the power of art—it transcends differences and reminds us of our shared humanity. I am constantly inspired by people, by stories, by the act of bridging the gaps society often widens. My choice to pursue art is not a rejection of my practicality–ignoring my life of struggle and its effects– but it's an embrace of something greater. It’s a commitment to growth, to storytelling, and to community. Despite the doubt I’ve encountered and the very real struggles I’ve seen, I know this is the right path for me. I don’t just want to create art, but also create a lasting impact.

My talent and passion for art were always acknowledged by the people around me, but when it came down to choosing to pursue it in college, it was labelled as "unrealistic". My experience as the first member in my family to attend college, my dad would place expectations on me to provide stability for their life, mine, and my future children. To pick whichever career that made the most money, regardless of lack of interest or passion. Selfishly, as they may deem me, I can break through the expectations of suffering to provide, not enjoying life, and only living for survival. I see my parents struggle to balance work and life, seeing them drift further from their dreams. My Stepmother, who pursued culinary, goes into the medical field so we don't have to struggle; my dad, who was once a photographer, no longer owns a camera. Unrealistic as it may sound, the dedication and opportunities the arts bring me will provide me with a life of fulfillment and stability. No other career choice, whether it includes some aspects of creativity or not, brings me the same level of joy or confidence. Having the opportunity to attend Pratt Institute in the upcoming fall, despite the financial burdens it may bear, is a way for me to put trust into the way things fall into place. It's exactly where I'm supposed to be and everywhere I wished to be. Since I was a child, I have been waiting for the moment to become independent. When painting, it comes instinctively to me: restarting when things don't feel right, knowing when to keep pushing. This provided me the ability to finally feel trust in myself, and I fell in love with the process, not the results. Struggling with anxiety, I don't know whether I can believe the thoughts I have. I couldn't differentiate my intuition with anxiety, but with painting, it provides me with relief from this confusion. I'm able to trust in my abilities and in my judgement. My goal with my art is to depict universal experiences and emotions, bringing to light the ways of life that many are not accustomed to seeing but can relate to and bond with. I want my art to evoke the same emotions and beauty that I experience when appreciating other cultures. Noticing the coinciding yet unique cultures while connecting with my Latino peers over food, or with my Punjabi ones over the vendors in the street. Beauty in finding joy is what the privileged call "not a lot," but is so much because it is still a precious life filled with love. I want my art to be something that will make people think, whether it is about the pain, struggles, complexity, or problems in the world, it will be a tool to invoke awareness outside of themselves. My art will provide a connection in this disconnected society, bridging gaps that only exist in the mind.

"Whispers of Connection: A Bond Without a Mother’s Voice" is a piece that I used to show the bond between me and my cousin. We share a sisterly bond and a connection that remains despite the boundaries and distance between us. A bond which started since birth and continues to evolve and remain in my heart despite growing apart. We shared a common mother figure in our life, our auntie Flavie, who served as a caretaker and guide for us throughout our lives. She has been responsible for that role since I was 5 after the passing of my mother, and for my cousin whose mother had not yet come to America. At times I was confused about our particular closeness, was it the similarity in our age, or the fact we were cousins, or were we friends outside of our familial relationships? The journey of creating this piece allowed me to explore and eventually realize why we were always so drawn to each other. It was our coinciding experiences, living in the same subsidized apartment complex where the lives we survived contrast what everyone perceived from the outside. An incomplete and impersonal home, a place where we wait and wait until we can leave. We provided each other comfort and friendship in the instability of our home lives. Inspired by the colors of my childhood, I painted an environment with lighting that resembled the home I grew up in. A yellow and green light that I associate with the poverty I grew up in and the dark reality of my childhood; the moments where I was forced to mature. Pinks and purples which represent the dynamic duo between my cousin and I-- colors which we claimed as kids. Lastly, accents of gold that represent my mom and her love of gold decorations around the house; within the picture frame is a photo of my mom which I carry wherever I go. Depicted in the painting are the two of us as kids waiting for food, most importantly us waiting for our mother’s and their love; in my culture food is an expression of maternal love and care. The two subjects are looking at the flower, not acknowledging each other--representing the unawareness of each other's presence in the loneliness we feel, but both looking at the flower which signifies the connection between the two. This work serves as a reminder to myself of the most influential people in my life, reminding me of their role in making me the person I am today, despite no longer being dependent on them anymore.

My piece “ Rot” addresses a problem that I struggle with daily, creating the piece allowed me to acknowledge and let go of the control my thoughts have on me. My bed rotting has been due to me wanting to dissociate from the current conditions in my life and as a way to sit and relish in my anxiety. The anxiety was comfortable; it was easier to live through shows, strangers on the internet, rather than living. Life looked dull and moody, I would look around and notice how slow time went. I wanted to make a piece that was almost intruding on my Sunday evenings. When painting this, I found a way for others to see my specific story and themselves in it as well. Creating this piece was a way for me to confront the emotions, thoughts, and my tendency to disassociate from everyday life challenges. Throughout my process, I embraced an intuitive approach by blending colors and applying expressive brush strokes. I focused on conveying the moodiness and distorted perception of life which I experience within these episodes. The colors in this piece captured my distorted reality and were inspired by the colors of rotting food, allowing for me to convey the feeling of rotting away, wasting time, and not to be dramatic, simply wasting my life. I was able to be seen fully within this painting, capturing the room that I tend to keep closed off to others, painting the stuffed animals,

Some believe that artistic talent is something that you are born with while others argue that it should be cultivated and taught. Choosing to be an artist is a conscious decision, and I have embraced this journey as my path to success. My whole life I was drawn to creative tasks, from making miniature homes, decorating, painting, or drawing; It has always been my primary way of expressing myself. My anxiety has often led me to hold back my thoughts, choices, and actions, but my art has remained a sanctuary. Painting allows me to represent the colorful ideals my brain transcribes, each brushstroke is a word, each layer tells a story, and each color is a hue of emotion. My anxiety affected my art in another way, it caused me to doubt myself. “Lauryn, being an artist isn’t a job. You won’t make any money.”, I listened because part of me believed that I didn’t want to risk not being financially stable due to the financial struggles I grew up with. I’ve now come to realize that the life I want to live is one filled with fulfillment, and for me to achieve the life I truly want, where I am my truest self it’s by pursuing visual arts. School wasn’t something I put my energy into just to seek academic validation; it was due to my true love of learning. I seek to exploit my strengths, being the best version of myself, improving but not changing, all of which I know I can do in an artistic school environment. The hands-on/ visual learning, freedom, guidance, and discipline needed in fine arts are all that I need to be the version of me I always imagined being. I would dissociate from the current conditions in my life as a way to sit and relish in my anxiety even though it was nearly paralyzing me. The anxiety was comfortable; it was easier to live through shows, and strangers on the internet, rather than living looking at others when I couldn’t. Once I became more aware of my dissociation I was able to ask myself “Girl why aren’t you painting right now?”. Then I did and all of a sudden it felt like I was living, not just existing. Art is what opens opportunities for me, ones that get me closer and closer to my destiny. Visual arts is my way for others to see my story and themselves in it as well. Human beings are often unaware of how alike we are all just because of cultural and physical differences, there is a collective subconscious that many like to deny. We relate and sympathize with experiences far different from our own and I want to explore that in my work. My impact on the world is by telling stories of the voices that aren’t heard. I may not have the words to say but visually I can allow others to place themselves in a story. As a society, we are disconnected and one of the historical ways that brought people together is with art. My goals as an artist and the ideas I have cannot be fulfilled without the challenge and teaching I will be exposed to at an art school.