Growing up, I appeared to be as healthy as any other kid around me, however, that was not the case.

I somehow managed to break my ankle one year which took a particularly long time to heal and the following year tore multiple ligaments which also took longer than usual to heal and shortly after that is when my stomach problems began.

I began seeing doctors for to figure out why I got injuries so easily and why my stomach always hurt. After seeing many doctors, my geneticist concluded that I had Ehlers Danos Syndrome; a disease that makes me injury prone and mystery GI issues.

Hearing this at eleven years old meant I couldn’t do things most kids my age could, like be on a soccer team or any sport that could cause injuries.

I was challenged me to learn how to cope with my disability and still be able to enjoy everything I do.

I have struggled for most of my life with a silent disability that has challenged me in so many ways. To many, I may appear put together on the outside, however, the chronic pain associated with my condition has put a severe amount of weight on my daily life- placing severe fatigue and stress radiating throughout the joints and tendons in my body.

The picture above was created to represent the mountains I have climbed to this day and will continue to overcome dealing with this disability and more throughout my future as an artist, and person.

This burdens me every day, but it is no excuse to dwell on something that is a lifelong journey, I have found that engulfing myself in nature relieves much of the chaos I experience and gives me a brief moment of relief.

As I matured, my pain matured as well. It is hard to be an art student and have to use my hands in my daily practice; not to say it’s the only thing that I am good at, but I am able to do the most amount of thinking when I am creating.

I have come to realize the different realms of life that art can make you think about, including self-dilemmas, but the main thing that I have been thinking about is the ways you can target audiences using art.

I have explored the realms of social media sharing, but also in creating artworks that cause you to think; specifically film and photography. I take photographs with the intent to transport the viewer directly into to the moments of time I have experienced pure bliss and serenity.

I constantly am inspired by the organic geography of our earth and that truly urges me to share that with the rest of the world.

This multimedia drawing was physically demanding to create but has so many layers to a very personal side of my life that I have not had the chance to share with the world and I am finally okay with it.