The biggest obstacle I’ve ever faced: overcoming loneliness as an identity, finding self worth, and conquering depression. Growing up feeling alone and without friends can be soul crushing to a young girl. Defining yourself as lonely can feel just like hiding under a heavy black cloak; familiarly suppressing. I know this to be true, as I myself once believed that my defining feature was my loneliness. In the darkest moments of my journey to happiness I found peace where I least expected it; within myself.
My parents, two successful self-taught artists, home schooled me as a child. I was raised on a large West Texas ranch half an hour from the nearest small town. My extremely unorthodox curriculum included traveling from one side of the…show more content… I read books and listened to mellow music about coming of age stories and feeling like a wallflower. Through no fault of my own I had grown up with very few short lasting relationships. It became my identity. I grew bitter and resentful of my hometown and its citizens. I decided that in order to be truly happy I needed to move far far away. My senior year of high school I moved to the island of Palma de Mallorca, Spain as a Rotary International Youth Ambassador hoping to find self-purpose and -most of all-…show more content… Facing language barriers and cultural differences was not what I had planned. I spiraled into a deep blue depression. I felt so helplessly lonely I started looking for anything to take my mind off my sorrow. I started writing poems about my state of despondency, which turned into writing music. I ended up buying a guitar and playing music daily as an outlet for my emotions. I took walks along the beach in the evenings and procured an amazing sense of clarity and focus. This constituted a myriad of artistic creativity inspiring me to go home and paint. I used watercolors and collage techniques to recreate my own versions of the pastel flowers and turquoise ocean scenes that brought me calm and peace. All the emotions and turmoil I had buried myself with was coming out in my arts. I felt an extraordinary sense of
