I realized quickly after I began my teenage years that people did not think like I did. Not in a way that gave me an advantage or disadvantage, but in a way that was a catalyst for me using my perspective to explore creative outlets. There was one universal language for me and it was art. I was not always able to express in words what I was dealing with but if I sat down with paint or a pencil I could use what I was interested in to represent it even if only for myself. A teacher in high school insisted I talk more about this, he was my history teacher and I was failing his class. He told me he knew I was smart but that someone along the way had convinced me I couldn’t hold my own. Art was the skeleton key that unlocked countless doors in my life, and those conversations with him helped me find that key. So the man in this piece represents him.
