Stress is one major problem that takes over my life every single day, so I decided to express how it makes me feel through my piece called “Blurred through the Stress.” I find myself always stressing about turning in assignments on time, getting perfect grades, not failing tests, and finding time to study, which is demonstrated by the words surrounding the notifications or alerts. The “NO SLEEP” and “NO BREAK” shows the lack of sleep I get when I have to study all night due to sports and other after-school activities and the continuous work I have to complete, causing me to lose social time with my friends and family. The eyes near the girl, who is myself, also contributes to the lack of sleep and exhaustion felt. I feel that my mind and body are blurred out when I encounter major stress, which is my reason for the blurred out face. The hands about to grab the brain, which is filled with bright colors to exhibit the pulse and amount of tension taking over, illustrate how it feels as if someone is squeezing and about to shake my brain around. My body is outlined with the colors surrounding my stressed-out brain, indicating the way the stress takes over. During the COVID-19 lockdown and online school, I felt even more pressure and stress than ever before, so I decided to add myself in front of a computer to illustrate the way I felt during that period as well. This piece was created on a 9 x 12 inch Bristol sheet with Prismacolors.
