When I was five years old, I lost my hearing completely, and I got teased a lot by my friends, which put me into a really dark place and I really felt like I didn't belong.

When I was born, I could hear just fine.

When I turned about 3 or 4 years old, I started noticing I couldn't hear my parents very well. And so they took me in. I got some hearing aids, and that helped me up until about 6— 5 or 6 years old when I lost my hearing completely. So I got cochlear implants. I will say I still can't hear everything. It's still kind of hard to hear, but they definitely help me a lot more.

So I depend on lip reading quite a bit.

So if you're covering your mouth, I'm not going to be able to hear you very well.

I wanted to create this piece to be able to express like my journey and how I've had a lot of hardships with my hearing, with friends, trying to fit in.

When I was younger, when kids would tease me, it made me feel like a lot lesser and not as great as they were. I felt very like alone, and I was afraid to talk to other people

because I was like, “Oh, what are they going to think of me?” Like, I'm already not good enough for them. Like there's no way I'll ever be good enough. And that kind of put me into a really dark place.

Throughout elementary school, I wouldn't really talk to many people because I was afraid of what they were going to say.

It definitely kind of just made me feel really alone,

kind of scared for the future because I'm like, what am I going to do if no one wants to talk to me?

In my past, I have struggled to find peace and comfort. I was seeking the wrong sources. I was seeking acceptance and approval from those around me. I thought that if they would accept me, I would have a sense of belonging and happiness.

It was not until I started praying to God and turning to Christ that I started to feel peace. I used to think that not being able to hear was a weakness, and I couldn't get over it. But now I know that it's still always going to be there, but I can turn it into a strength and I can use it to help other people.

I know that when I turned to Christ, I was able to find peace and know that it would be okay. I have been able to turn to my so-called weakness into a strength.

I no longer worry about what others think of me.

Instead, I worry about how I can help them find the peace and love that I have found. When I’m able to share art with others, it’s really fun because I get to see their reactions, and I'm hoping that most of my art can touch people's hearts and kind of help them feel what I feel.

So the main part of my piece is I have a picture of me, and I’m going to—I’m looking up into the light and it kind of just represents praying to God and turning to Christ.

And the light is kind of just like the blessings and the comfort He gives.

I did trees and mountains in the background to kind of represent how much I love, like going in nature, and it brings so much peace. And I just, I just love going out there and seeing all the pretty stuff outside.

I added some dark clouds on the side to represent the opposition, and some of my peers that have kind of tried to bring me down.

The light in the painting is kind of like Christ and like Heavenly Father, and how They help me like the blessings They give.

Also the comfort and the peace, because the tauntings, they’re never going to stop. It's always going to be a battle between the light and dark.

But in the end, light always wins.

That's why I want to turn to the light,

because it's always going to illuminate the darkness.

I still get teased all the time, but I don’t focus on that anymore. I focus more on what I can, like how I can be better,

like focusing on, like how can I help them feel peace and find the light of Christ? Because it’s definitely really has helped me a lot. And I don't care that I'm deaf now.

I believe this artwork is for everyone because we can all feel His love and His peace. He’s there for all of us. No one is restricted from His love. Like, He loves us all. He wants us all to come back to Him.

Everyone has their own trials, their own hardships, and that's kind of what the darkness is, because everyone, like the clouds are everyone's like, struggles and trials.

It doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are,

your mistakes you’ve made. It doesn’t matter if you’re spiritual or not. You'll help lift your burden.

I hope when you look at this, that will remind you to look up instead of the world around you, to find your own personal peace.