Emma Salino 9/11/12 Period 2 My Mandala Artist Statement Whenever you think or you believe or you know, youre

a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, youre nothing-but-yourself, said E.E Cummings. I dont think I was like this all the time, doing everything I do with such emotion. I could have been;I wasnt aware of myself like I am now. Ive changed in my eyes, and its quite life-changing. An eye-opener, really. I am permanently fixed with the feeling of being one step closer to who I am. Like everyone, I am covered with stains of life. I am waiting for that one moment where it will come together into the true self I am both bound to be and how I make myself to be. But, I dont have all of my stains, its only been 16 days, after all. 1. My mother in Indonesia: She was young, and this is my favorite picture of her. Shes someone I look up to. To me her childhood stories are amazing, and I hope to one day do the same to my children. 2. The Asking Alexandria picture: I want to live life with no regrets, to do something crazy with anything I feel strongly emotionally about. I look at the world with music; everything I do reminds me of music. 3. Room full of books: I love books. I want my career to have books involved, like an author. This has caused me to be quite resentful of todays technological advances; I desperately dont want books to become a lost popularity. They are my childhood friends. I want future generations to have a safe escape. 4. Vintage California: My road, my home. I dont see my road with pavement and dirt. Well, partially. Its also the ocean, full of possibilities, fantasies and mysteries. 5. Fish world: I refuse to see the world as something so logical. I am aware of how the world actually looks, but I let my imagination have no limit.

Emma Salino 9/11/12 Period 2 My Mandala Artist Statement 6. The wilderness on the book: I dont just read. I have lived through characters, created an elaborate world within myself. Reading has definitely turned me into the person I currently am today. 7. All Time Low concert picture: Also taken at Vans Warped Tour; they were the titling band. They were one of the bands that saved me. I was in love with Alex Gaskarth; he was himself and he made me feel like I wasnt alone, and that it was okay to be the way I am. This was the last band I saw at Vans Warped Tour; well, most of it, anyhow. I was getting trampled: pushed, stepped on, the whole shebang. Thankfully I didnt get hurt, a boy in the crowd dropped down and covered me after I fell. 8. The cat that looks human: I see things differently. When a majority sees a dog, I see a squirrel. I believe everything has emotions, therefore we should treat everything like theyre humans. 9. The coffee: I love coffee. 10. The photos: When I was a wee little one I wanted to be a photographer, like my aunt. I still want to take pictures, to show what I see and how I see it. 11. Broken egg: I want to be free. I want to look at all of the corners of the world. I want to travel, to travel with such a fervor that my world becomes bigger than space. 12. The girl with the chicken strip moustache: My best friend, Cristina Sanchez. Weve been together for about 5 years; I anticipate more to come. We went to our first Vans Warped Tour together, where I took this picture. It was a nerdy encounter, the way we met. I was sitting alone at a table during lunch, I believe reading a book. Cristie reluctantly yet politely asked if she could sit at my lunch table. It was a lot like Harry Potter; the way Ron and Harry officially meet.

Emma Salino 9/11/12 Period 2 My Mandala Artist Statement Harry is sitting alone in the compartment on the Hogwarts Train, and Ron comes in asking if he can sit here. When I realized this, I started crying, and so did Cristie; Harry Potter was our childhood. It was our comfort, our friend when we didnt have each other. Of all people, shes influenced me the most. Now, were so close its like were one. I have actually been afraid to enact physical actions with Cristie because I felt like we would literally become one physically, seeing as were already almost one emotionally. 13. Darth Vader reading a Harry Potter book: I rejoice when I see a mixture of worlds, any kind. I revel in the identity of being an English nerd. I try to see beauty in everything; I mostly do. I find beauty in the little things. Some people may say that I live in my own little galaxy, and I suppose thats true. I dont want to look at the world and have an opinion about it just yet. When I do, only then will I fully and confidently step out of my world. Maybe.