As a class of 2021 High School graduate, I completed the hardest 2 years of my high school education primarily online. This meant experiencing not only the loneliness and depression of COVID as a result of distancing from friends and community, but also limited access to school art resources and studio space to create a strong portfolio for my college applications. At the time, undiagnosed for my neurodivergent identities, these 2 years of my life were incredibly difficult and isolating for me to navigate as I finished my childhood.

While I did not have a lot of painting skills at the time this piece was made, I still believe it is an essential piece of my high school portfolio as it was the first time I ventured into work that was more conceptual and also the first time I used digital editing/collaging to create my reference image (seen to the right).