Choosing hope through art

Lately, the world has felt darker.

It’s been harder to stay positive, especially as an artist—when part of the job is to show up online, to share your work publicly, to sell, to be visible. Constant visibility can feel heavy when the energy around you feels tense, angry, and divided.

I’ve always struggled with negativity. I don’t seek out arguments. I don’t feel called to share angry opinions, especially online. That’s likely rooted in the environment I was raised in—where conflict felt loud and overwhelming, and peace felt safer. I learned early on to protect my energy.

Right now, though, it feels especially difficult to share anything at all. People are angry with each other. Angry at the wrong things. I’ve seen artists calling out other artists for not speaking loudly enough, not advocating publicly enough, not choosing a side. There’s pressure to perform outrage. To prove your worth by your opinions.

That has never been who I am.

Yes, the world is suffering. We all see it. We all feel it. It affects every one of us in different ways. But acknowledging pain doesn’t mean we have to let it consume us. It doesn’t mean we have to abandon softness, or peace, or hope.

I choose to stand with love. I choose to stand with kindness. I choose to stand with hope.

It genuinely hurts me to see people so angry with one another—turning on each other instead of coming together. I hope that someday we can learn to fight the real enemy, instead of tearing each other apart.

My art was never created to make statements about politics, religion, or hate.

My art was created for survival.

It was created for my mental health. For the moments when I didn’t want to live. For the days when staying positive felt impossible. For healing.

That intention hasn’t changed.

My work will remain a place of softness in a loud world. A reminder that beauty, peace, and healing still matter. That choosing gentleness is not weakness. That you’re allowed to protect your heart.

This space—my art, my voice, my work—will continue to be what it was always meant to be.

A place to breathe. A place to heal.

A place to choose light, even when the world feels dark.