Authors: Becca fabis
Mentors: Alexandra Giannell
Insitution: Utah Valley University
On December 2nd my friend was killed by a hit and run driver while going on a run at night. It was right before finals. I was involved with the police and helped her family pack up all of my beloved friends belongings and watched as her daddy cried in her room. Words can’t express the agony I saw.
Two months later I learned that another roomate (in a different apartment) her cousin had committed suicide. And we were the place everyone gathered. I held her cousin’s (who committed suicide) sister in my arms as she cried. Words cannot express the agony I felt for them.
Then on the first day of school this semester (a month ago) my father suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm. He was at the peak of health. My mom puked from sickness and shock, later got sick with other illnesses, (she’s doing a little better now) then my sister got sick and I was left to care for them on my own. There’s no words to express my exhaustion. The late nights of wandering my house making sure we were safe. Words have no ability to express my agony I’m in.
After my roomate passed I created a painting. It’s called my grieving process because it’s of a house, the house represents me. In it through color you can see the process that grief can have on a person. I’m only 25, people say I’m too young to lose this many people. Perhaps they’re right. It’s an eerie painting and pretty odd when you look at it. I have had now three losses that have taught me that sometimes words aren’t enough. That it’s through art I can scream and it is documented. I would love to present on how creating art can be the breathe of fresh air one desperately needs in order to continue on in this fight we call life.