The Ones Who Taught Me to Dream
By Laila Dola
My mom and dad are my best support system. They have made a lot of sacrifices so that my sisters and I can have a better future. I love them so much, and I am forever grateful to them. To give them a tribute, I made this piece.
Process
I created this piece using the image editing software Affinity Photo. My process included finding the photos, experimenting with multiples of them, and resizing them over and over again. I had to see what looked best and kept in mind the position of the pictures as well as the colors.
Meet the Pair
MENTEE LAILA DOLA & MENTOR JILL KAMINSKY
Laila’s Anecdote: Sometimes God crosses our path with certain people to teach us to continue to move forward in our own lives. Those people nourish us, they push us, and they teach us to believe in ourselves. For me, my mentor Jill is that gift, and I have been extremely lucky to have her in my life. She always amazes me with her open-mindedness and her knowledge of every little thing in the world. I greatly appreciate her presence in my life.
Jill’s Anecdote: When I joined Girls Write Now as a mentor two years ago, I had the self-aggrandizing belief that I would be a shining example of wisdom to a young woman. I would be the envy of all the other mentors. What I didn’t know is that I would be paired with Laila, the most wise and compassionate person that I know. Every time I meet with Laila, I walk away with some new insight, something new to think about, something to consider in my own life. She is the mentor. I am the mentee.
Laila Dola
Laila Dola is a student majoring in Emerging Media. She has experience with various types of media and different forms of writing.
