Joyner Library Special Collection.pdf

Media

Part of Finding Self-Love

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Hi! My name is Adriana Chiocca and I’m currently a freshman majoring in Speech and
Hearing Sciences. My intended profession is a Speech-Language Pathologist! The goal
I have is to make a difference in people’s lives while building strong connections with
each patient. My interests consist of cheerleading, going to the gym, and spending time
with my friends/family. I am a retired all-star cheerleader but I am trying out ECU
cheerleading this Spring! I don’t have a huge background in art but as a kid, I always
enjoyed drawing and painting. I found it very relaxing but it is not something I do as
frequently. I am not the biggest artist so for my mask project, I decided to print a
butterfly outline and decorate it with my favorite colors. The idea I had was to draw out
a big butterfly and put it on top of a disposable mask. As for my inspiration, I thought
about how much different I was compared to pre-covid to now. I wanted to represent the
growth and healing I have experienced since March 2020. All of my life I struggled a lot
with my self-image and I hated everything about myself. I relied on others to make me
feel worthy enough and I didn’t treat myself with the respect I deserved. Right when the
pandemic hit, I struggled a lot with finding self-love and respect. As time flew by, my
habits began to worsen but I promised myself I would start a journey to find self-love. I
can now finally say that I am working on bettering myself to be the happiest I can be! It
took a lot of time but it is possible. The pandemic sure did take a toll on my mental
health but I realized I can conquer anything I want to achieve. I have surrounded myself
with people who truly love and support me, I started working on myself to make me feel
good, instead of for other people. I decided to have my mask represent a butterfly to
represent how much I have healed since the start of the pandemic. Butterflies represent
endurance, hope, and life. I have come a long way since March 2020 and that is why I
chose a butterfly to represent my Covid-19 experience. I took my self-portrait outside to
represent rebirth. My photo in my opinion was aesthetically pleasing because all of the
colors in the picture are beautiful and it reminds me of Spring! I think the colors I used
stand out from my background and that’s what I really like about this picture! Overall,
this picture/mask represents personal growth since the early pandemic.