Everyone seems to think they know what I want and who I should aspire to be. Fuck that.
 
I created the first version of this piece when I was in eighth grade... another teen girl frustrated by the clash of what was expected from her and what she expected of herself. 
 
I recently came across this very rudimentary version when I was going through my camera roll. Thought it would be interesting to recreate the piece and revisit my values/aspirations/frustrations now that I’m in my twenties. Obviously some things have changed, but it’s concerning how many things haven’t. Especially in the notion of what I feel is expected of me: the pressures I feel from stupid societal standards… which have only gotten more suffocating (see pearls on left) as I grow. 
 
Every now and then I have to remind myself of the woman I aspire to be, and the incredible woman I have grown to become. That I have the power to release myself from the grasp of unrealistic and antiquated expectations (see pearls on right). I think we all need some self-love right about now.