Last spring, the New York Times was flooded with articles about abortion and how some states were trying to undermine Roe v. Wade. After reading these headlines, I became scared for myself, the girls around me, and any person who has a uterus. However, I have learned that if you are scared, you must stand up and fight for change. I am fighting back with my words.
This graphic design accompanies a poetic performance about sexual identity and traditional expectations of young women.
Who wouldn’t want to see a modern version of Sex in the City in just a few slides? This collage is a visual representation of the things I have done as a young woman of color living in New York City. You can see not only the things I have achieved, the places I’ve traveled, and the clothes I wear while walking the streets of this cosmopolitan city, but you can also see the importance of my family and friends to me.
I love photography because I think it’s beautiful how one second can be caught in one picture. It’s one of the few ways where time can be still. This collage shows many seconds of my ironic life on different occasions.
“To The Ones With Skin As Dark And Beautiful As Night” comes from a time when I didn’t feel so confident. Lupita Nyong’o is a huge part of me realizing that I am beautiful as she took her place in history, and I soon took my own place in history.
I originally planned to create snippets of various Valentine’s Day scenarios. I think I gravitated towards that idea because that day for me was pretty dull. On a random walk, I decided to make my animation more cartoony and less serious. I made my characters personified food instead of people. By the way, green tea is my favorite flavor of ice cream, and I hate cherry-flavored everything.
This digital media piece is about what it means to be a woman in today’s society. This piece is also about my take on erasure poetry with a mix of feminism. I emphasize the words by highlighting them instead of spotlighting the words by redacting others.
“In the Books” is a short clip about trying to find myself and who I want to be. This video is worth watching for those who do not know who they want to be and want some type of inspiration. This is coming from a girl who does not know what she wants to do in her career path, but at least knows where she wants to start. This work made me feel vulnerable and can help others understand that there are other women to look up to.
This stop-motion animation is about two members, Goob and Cy, from a rebel group called the Uglies who seek to overthrow the oppressive Aluminium Regime, who hate and deem clay impure and routinely have “cleansings” to get rid of any remnants of clay throughout the land of Scupltipica. After one of these cleansings, Goob and Cy find one sole survivor.
What would you do if you found ancient eyeglasses on your commute to work or school? What if those ancient eyeglasses showed you your history and how you became who you are? Through this project, I am revolutionizing my history from my ancestors, who were probably activists and storytellers; to my parents, who had to struggle growing up; now to me and how I formed my identity in school, family, and society. This project represents who I am and how I am taking my place in history, including yours.
History: What About Me? is a piece reflecting on women in history and the mark I plan to leave in history. The inspiration came from when I was speaking to my mentor, Rachel, about the legacy many women have left and how I would like to do the same, even if it was not written in a textbook. By this, I mean that history is not just the one we learn about in school. It is something we all are part of without knowing. I believe this piece represents my best work because I did something new and the result felt rewarding. I demonstrated to myself that I was capable of stepping out of my comfort zone and accomplishing great things.
For most of my life, I’ve seen Death as the enemy. He stole the people that I love away from me. Most importantly, my father. I never knew what Death’s true intentions were until I dared to dive deeper. I realized that he wasn’t just out to get me and ruin my life. Death was never in charge of calling the shots on who’s next, he was just doing what he was asked to do. In the end, Death was always just a messenger who got a bad rep.
“Raspberry Heart” reflects the reality our world may soon face—a world in which technology replaces human emotions and connection.
This poem is for my friend who betrayed me. She told me she had seen her friends betray her and talk shit behind her back, but that doesn’t mean she had to do the same to me.
I decided to focus on bringing awareness to mental health, which is a topic that means a lot to me. I want to bring voice to those who have felt silenced. My work is titled “Begin at the Beginning” because sometimes that is what we have to do. It was also the title of a favorite childhood book of mine.
