For me to talk about my identity in high school compared to a college student now is a little different than most other students. I’ve been out of high school for 8 years, so sometimes it’s hard for me to remember my attitudes and feelings from that part of my life. I perceived myself as more of a friend in high school than anything. I had a strong loyalty with a few good friends that seemed to be my main focus. All my friends were also art people, so I also identified myself as “artsy.” Eight years later, I still consider myself “artsy” but as more of an artist. I also see myself as more of a family person being an aunt now and having my own version of a family.

When I think about my artwork and its progression through high school to now, I see sort of the same transformation. In high school I made things that I liked or thought was cool—it didn’t have much meaning. Now, my art has thought in it and more of a focus on emotion and reality. Age has been a great thing for me—it’s helped me put a perspective on what’s important and a focus on what I really want.