As a toddler, I made murals out of the walls and carpets. Since then, I've been drawing on every flat surface around me. Art has always been my way of expressing feelings that words can't do justice.

It was only natural to continue art into highschool, but at the beginning, I only stuck to the medium most comfortable to me: realism in pencil. But last year, as I experimented with different styles and mediums, I learned how to decipher the jumble of lines and values in a subject into something with meaning.

With a concentration in portraiture in 2D Studio Art, I explored the infinite ways I could turn the lens through which I see the world into a tangible piece of art.

Art serves as more than a cathartic release of my emotions-it's the way I explore emotions I can't find the words to describe.