What it means to be an artist is to be someone who can step out of the box, out of their body for a moment and explore the world and human experience through different mediums. An artist conveys ideas, emotions,experiences and events through different senses. As an artist, it means that I can put my inner turmoil and thoughts on a canvas. It means that I can express my reaction to my environment through each stroke of a brush. Art drives me in that it helps me cope. For example, this pandemic has worsened my anxiety and depression. As a result, I have done my best to convey my fear and channel these emotional burdens onto my art. It helps me understand the deeper parts of my nature and helps me calm down. Art helps me to see my situation in a different and objective perspective. As a result, art serves to be a therapy and helps my well being. Whether I am sketching, painting, or taking part in some other art medium, I am able to unwind. In my life, art has been a constant that I know I can always fall back on when I feel unwell. I feel connected to art in that it has helped me improve myself. I was a person with a low self esteem, but art has improved that. Art forms part of my personality and is my best part. It has helped me develop confidence in myself through my works and through all of the works I’ve created. Through constant practice and classes, I was able to see that I was a talented person and that I could improve with enough hard work. Not to mention, it helped me meet various friends since my hand painted clothes were great conversation starters. I plan to use my art to connect and create change for future generations by using my art for storytelling. For example, during this pandemic I was able to use my art to tell the experience of a pandemic by exploring the sights, emotions, and thoughts one felt when experiencing it. The future generations could use my artworks to interpret and understand life in past years. My artwork could also be used to understand trends and major events. Art has served as a medium that reflects my reactions and offers interpretations as a growing 18 year old Latina. I have used different mediums to relate my story and have served to record my experience in ways words or a camera cannot.