This short tik tok video depicts a part of my life where I was struggling for four years and then finally found happiness. The loss of loved ones and the four mental hospitals I’ve been to due to depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety doesn’t stop me from being happy. While working on this piece I realized how far I’ve come in life- overcoming those difficult challenges and all the hard work finally paid off.
I wrote this poem because we never know what other people are going through. So many people have been through a lot of struggles in life (mental health struggles, family struggles, etc.), including me, so we need to be kind to one another. I hope this poem helps inspire teenagers that have struggled in life to always have hope.
“My piece shows a group of Asian Americans that are real people who have been victims of hate crimes in the U.S, both victims who have died, and those that have survived, in a courtroom in front of a judge depicted to be ignorant and dismissive of their injustice. I wanted to bring more awareness to the struggles the Asian community faces and how it gets ignored and how people will go out of their way to make excuses or turn a blind eye about it, rather than work to fix the problem at hand.”
“My piece was inspired by the idea of breaking through racial prejudice, using broken glass to symbolize what we see and what some ignore. The crashed window symbolizes an opening, breaking with past injustice. The bright yellow center is the hope of all people respecting each other’s rights regardless of their mental health status, race, or thoughts. There are some people supporting mental health by wearing wristbands with the hotline for mental health, someone supporting black lives, hope, and stop for hate crimes. It is about the diversity of people uniting and demonstrating justice for everyone.”
My illustration depicts “The First Lady of Physics”, Chien-Shiung Wu, as well as Tsung-Dao Lee and Yang-Chen Ning, two figures with significant contributions to parity violation. These individuals made a crucial contribution to physics by disproving the law of conservation of parity, outlining that the laws of physics must remain the same for two systems that are mirror images of each other. Lee, Ning and Wu all contributed to the conclusion that parity could not be assumed in all instances, particularly in weak interactions, however only Ning and Lee walked away with a Nobel Prize in Physics. Using the idea of two mirrored images behaving differently, I illustrated how the scientists were all crucial to the experiment, but only Lee and Ning were recognized/reflected. Wu would receive a Wolf Prize several years after the experiment, but it is no doubt that her contributions to parity violation were overlooked, exemplifying the gender bias that has been fostered not only in STEM, but also across the globe for several years. Wu was not only an incredible physicist, but also an advocate for equality in STEM, questioning if “…the tiny atoms and nuclei, or the mathematical symbols, or the DNA molecules have any preference for either masculine or feminine treatment” (Chien-Shiung Wu at MIT, 1964). Such instances of injustice can easily be excused as things of the past, but it is crucial that we acknowledge how gender discrimination has, and still does, prevail in the world.
I decided to talk about addiction to marijuana. I think this is an important topic that not many like to talk about because there is a lot of misinformation about CBD and the use of marijuana. I wrote about my point of view and my story in relation to this topic. I feel strongly about this topic in relation to your mental health. I feel that my voice should be heard and my hope is that this helps others by reading my poem.
“Burned Out” tells the story of two childhood friends, one healthy and happy, and the other under the influence of cannabis. Their relationship used to be filled with trust, good health, and love. Things changed when one made positive decisions about her life, and the other succumbed to peer pressure and started using weed. Under-aged cannabis use literally “Burned Out” her ability to keep and maintain relationships with her closest friends and family. Her physical and mental health declined, and her grades dropped drastically. While her childhood friend continued to thrive, the other began to disappear.
This is a reality in middle and high schools. Good friends make different choices, and those choices can tear them apart. Weed can burn away a person’s ability to think clearly, and can negatively impact the user’s health and future. It’s difficult as a friend to see this happening and not be able to help. If this is you, and you are the healthy friend, never give up on the other person, and never give up HOPE that they can return to their original self. Showing this through art was a challenge at first, but after making the decision to literally burn the paper, the message became clear.
Cannabis is often used to relief anxiety and paranoia, but many people gain new anxiety when using it. Marijuana is used as a coping mechanism for many people. Being able to find a new safe space is a big step from coming away from marijuana. A lot of people use it for recreational purposes and it causes more harm than good for them. Finding new activities to distract yourself, like music, can help move away from this habit.
A year ago, I was feeling empty and incomplete. In my self-portraits, the black and white outlines portray me being in a dark place not knowing what would happen next. As I began to look at my situation, I looked to find things that would make me feel happy, complete. The color started to return to my life when I began to draw to express my feelings. This is where you see the color return, and the positive changes in me. In looking at me in black and white and color, I see hope that my life will continue to get better and better.
Over the past year I’ve experienced many changes in who I am. I am an incredibly social person, and suddenly I found myself alone and without a way to connect with people. My art highlights two characters, LadyBug and Cat Noir. They are kind and generous, and they never leave people out. I wanted to express that even though I feel alone, that I’m not. Reaching out to others is important, and everyone matters.