Find Your Anchor

Recovering

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My painting “Recovering” is about my anchor. Last year after coming back to school and getting involved with several school activities, I had some problems with mental health- overthinking stuff, getting pressured, not managing my time wisely- so I had to find a way to go back and make an anchor. As I was working on this art piece, I thought about what my anchor is and how I use it. Since I thought that I needed to focus and concentrate on my studying and academics, I chose studying as my anchor and started using my schoolwork to help me refocus and give myself a sense of accomplishment.

Disco Snail

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My entry is a hand sewn plushy of a beige snail. it has a zipper embedded in its muted jade green shell which hides a colorful florescent pocket of life within. My submission is about how hand sewing helps me to refocus and anchor myself back down to the earth whenever I get overwhelmed or stressed. The muted tones on the outside of the plush represent the stress, pressure, and tiredness that daily life brings, while the bright inside contrasts by showcasing the creativity and childish joy that lays hidden and dormant throughout a person’s life until they relearn to anchor themselves and live life in the moment rather than as a spectator.

Feeling the Melody

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When I saw the “Find your Anchor” monthly prompt, I thought about how much I enjoyed listening to music when I felt down. I thought of the song “Sunday Best” by Surfaces and drew how I felt when listening to that song. I ended up with a sunny background with music notes around my character. In the drawing I am wearing a purple cropped shirt, baggy black pants, a jean jacket, and an off-white pair of shoes. I also have on a pair of red-black spotted earbuds to make it clear that I am listening to music. I chose for my character to be jumping downwards as listening to music is a rush of happiness that is pleasant to me.

Light in the Dark

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In this piece music is my anchor. Intricate melodies help me find the light when I feel stuck in the dark. Music gives me hope. Hope that whatever problem I am facing will soon be resolved. That is why I have chosen music as my anchor.

Runner

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With this piece, my goal was to show a runner escaping a cluster of chaotic things. Running has been my “anchor” over the past few months, so I decided to have the person running away from the sort of nonsensical, disorganized madness that, without an anchor, can really leave people detached from what matters. I painted the runner fairly small because it allowed the overwhelmingness of all of the stuff behind it to show through, while also setting them in front of the objects to give the idea of an escape. I also used night and day to represent the more chaotic aspects of the right side of the painting and the calm of the left.

What Music Can Do

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My entry is a poem that explains my mental state before and after music and the positive impact it can have on someones life. During the start of my poem, I wrote about not being in the best state of mind mentally and losing hope trying to seek out a coping mechanism. Then by the end of the poem, I discover my love for music and seem to be in a much better place. My entry relates to the contest submission criteria because music has always been my anchor, the thing that I can rely on.

not me

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My submission is a poem about reading, reading has always helped me ever since I can remember. Using my head and imagination for reading helps me get out of any thoughts I don’t want to be listening to. I believe everyone should have a happy place and I want to inspire people to look for their own happy place if it’s writing, singing, and or drawing. I want them to have a safe space.

Take Life One Word At A Time

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My entry is about journaling, and the positive impacts it can have on someone. Journaling is a very useful coping strategy, and in doing it you can creative positive and healthy habits for yourself. Everyone needs an outlet and an anchor to get through the bad times, and journaling my feelings and thoughts is mine. It relates back to the required content submission criteria because I expressed the influence journaling has had on my life and the way I deal with things.

Lonely Skies

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My entry is about someone who feels lost in their own negativity and self-hate. Most of this stems from their fear of people and their expectations of who you should be as a person. This makes them feel like they’ll never be worth enough, and what’s worse is no one out there seems to be able to see their struggles. However, their anchor that supports them are the people at home, and even though they still struggle with their own self-worth, their family can make it a little more bearable. And it also gives them hope that maybe one day, they’ll be able to escape the unhealthy mindset.

Broken Seashells

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My poem is an example of how many of us go through extremely difficult times and continue to have the question, “Why should we go on? What is holding me here?” And I wanted to show through my poem that we are our own anchor even if we do not feel like we are.