I couldn’t breathe. I was nine, experiencing constant chest pains. The physical pain was just the beginning; I visited multiple medical specialists with seemingly endless tests, but nothing was out of the ordinary. Physically, I was fine–the problem was in my mind. That year I learned what the word anxiety meant. I felt relieved to have a label to explain why my thoughts kept looping and why I felt so nervous. Art became my way of showing everything that I was hiding from others and what I didn’t want to acknowledge myself. Each piece reflects a stage of my identity like when I learned about my anxiety diagnosis. Art weaves its way through my life - an invisible string, a natural motivation to keep creating, which is one of the reasons I founded this very organization. I believe the process of making art is even more valuable than the finished piece because of the healing, new perspectives, and discoveries it can bring. Art helps me cope with my anxiety and other surrounding issues in my life, and in return, I hope my work serves its viewers by helping them reflect on their lives and similar struggles they might be facing. 

These ten pieces are constructed in chronological order to mimic the passage of time. Each piece represents a milestone in my life, intended to show the pains of growing through mental health struggles, family dysfunction, and lost identity, all captured in my evolving style.

The first piece, A Nine-Year-Old Solving Climate Change, opens this collection because it represents the first landmark of my struggles with mental health. At nine years old I harnessed my anxiety into trying to solve climate change.

Swallow Up portrays two faces with closed eyes to represent feeling uninformed and blind.

My largest piece, Spiral, is painted on a wooden board. During the process of this piece, I had no plan. I just let my hands lead the way creating a messy expression.

Body Image reflects the teenage transition years where many become self-conscious.

Family Dysfunction portrays a blame within relationships.

Somewhere Between Sinking and Swimming captures what high-functioning depression feels like.

You’re Not Welcome Here! reveals a desperate desire to stay in a place one has outgrown.

Run, Run! captures what it's like to live in a state of dissociation; the contrast between the floating fish and the screaming face is intended to raise a sense of curiosity about the reality of our experiences.

Holy Surrender portrays a priest smothered by bees; the bees represent anxiety. The bees are so powerful that even a religious figure that represents the power of God, must surrender to its force. This piece depicts the helpless feelings when caught in the spiral of anxiety.

My latest piece, a self-portrait called Losing Yourself, depicts the process of losing one’s identity. I used leftover chips of paint from other paintings to convey a sense of warped time; the chips scattered across the painting are meant to depict the defying of time, showing that two figures from various times meet in the same plane, but one can not see the other.