For the majority of my life I’ve found myself doing many things I love, but if there were one thing I couldn’t live without, it would be art. I love art and all of its many ways of portrayal and expression. For all I can remember, I have been the little artist of the family, always getting the same sketchbooks and kids coloring kits as gifts. Art is a way to get me thinking. It’s like I get to create a whole new world of my own. It takes my mind off of other things and lots of times serves as a destressor. But most importantly, when I finish a piece, I get that feeling of satisfaction. All the time, effort, and hard work put into making something turn out how I envisioned makes me feel so proud. Getting people to look and see my art is truly an experience like no other. It’s amazing to see people appreciate something I love. All I can think is that I made that. I had an idea in my head and made it a reality.

For my art piece I wanted to make something that would represent me and the important contributions to my life. It was a challenge since it’s so hard to narrow down myself and all my representations to one panel of wood. But in the end I decided to incorporate myself and nature to illustrate our bond. My family is a very outdoorsy and nature loving family. We are always camping somewhere, going to lakes, going on hikes, and going to the beach. I am grateful that we are fortunate enough to get to live somewhere so close to the ocean. Everything there makes me feel so welcome. It’s like my home away from home.  The beach is such a pretty place and it plays such a huge role in my life. To hear the waves crashing and see the sunset reflecting off the water is undoubtedly ethereal. My connection with the ocean and nature itself makes me realize how beautiful life is. In my piece, I included myself because I tend to draw a lot of people when I create art. I find it really impressive when you have the ability to draw someone and it actually looks like them, when someone can correctly duplicate a person's features to the point any person could tell it’s them. I also included the Lone Cypress to represent Carmel and its natural environment. The rocks off the cliff are cracking down my face and the ocean waves are going down my shoulder to represent our connection, my connection with nature.

Now that I’m getting older and need to figure out how to start my journey into adulthood, I'm forced to figure out what I will do with my life and how I’ll get there. I’m not totally sure what to do because there are so many decisions I’ll have to make that could change the rest of my life. But in the end all I can say is that I do really love art. I hope to continue being creative and pursue art no matter what paths I take and where my journey leads me.