What It Means To Be Human

To best describe what this year has meant to me, I decided to use writing. Often, I find it hard to say what I want to say, in the way I want to say it, when the opportunity arises. But using a coherent piece of writing that I have analyzed over and over, to say as much as I can with few words is the perfect way for me. In my writing, I found a metaphor that stood out to me: bubbles. Bubbles to me are so magical, but they also never last, which kind of reminded me of myself. As a human, I will die and sometimes that is hard to cope with, which is such a big part of being a teenager, and I wanted to represent that, especially in a time like this when we are stuck inside with all of our thoughts. So I titled this piece 'What It Means To Be Human', because I think sometimes we forget the power we can have. Soon, the question I thought about went from, 'How has 2020 changed you?' to 'How can I make my impact in 2020?'. So I worked a long time on this piece--since October-- and went from 950 words all the way down to 450. Finally, to take this one step further, I created a piece of artwork, making draft after draft until I could sketch these bubbles, creating a brilliant contrast and a visual representation of all I wanted to say. Using just black construction paper, colored pencils, the help of the internet, and some paint, I was able to make this image of the child I describe in my essay, but yet also the teenager looking up to the stars. I wanted to represent everyone, no matter where you stand, because in the end we are all human, and that is what my biggest takeaway from this was. I have learned more about myself through this contest, and I hope when you read this piece, my impact will be made, even just to one person, that is enough, to make you think and hopefully keep these thoughts with you, to make you ponder where you are, and what you can do. Thank you. Reese