Advice and More
The Importance of Art in Self Expression
Alyssa Santos
There are times when trying to put a feeling into words or context doesn’t seem to exacerbate your point enough. No matter what you say, or how you say it, it's not enough. What you feel inside isn’t tangible, or small enough to put into words, or not enough to just talk it out. But what’s interesting about this intangibility is that people have found a way to communicate with each other that doesn’t require knowledge of the same language, the same level of education, or even a relationship; it’s art. Art garners attention, allows the artist to “speak” to people they never would’ve reached otherwise. It touches people far beyond the visible sea, it’s a time capsule waiting to be discovered, and it's been an essential part of our communication for centuries. Art is by far the finest form of self-expression and communication: pieces of art from decades ago are still relevant because they're timeless, and the original intended meaning can adapt to fit current issues. That’s why so many people relate to and find consolidation in artwork. When artists create, it's their way of escaping whatever they’re feeling, and displaying it for the world to interpret. Words produce vivid pictures, elicit emotions, and when one has a way with words, those words become influential to the people who need it most, becoming words some live by.
But not all art is held within letters, and the communication between an artist and an audience is almost always a complicated one. I read a quote once by Donald Winnicott, a psychoanalyst, that said “Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide”, and I don’t think that could be any more true . I've noticed that when artists—not just musical artists—are asked about a specific piece of theirs and what their craft means to them, they often answer very vaguely, say that the meaning is up for the consumer to find in themselves, or decline to answer at all because it’s too personal. Even as I write this, knowing it will be presented to my classmates, I don’t want to delve into all the things art symbolizes for me; it’s beyond personal. Art is vulnerable and difficult, but it’s an excellent way of expressing what goes on in one's heart and mind. We can all think of a time where we were overwhelmed with an emotion, and wanted to let it out but didn’t know how to speak it into existence. While some bottle these emotions up, others create movies, paintings, illustrations, books, sculptures, and with every minute of work that is put into one of those projects, their emotions intertwine with the work and they let their feelings go. Sometimes a movie or a painting is so arduous for the consumer to look at, it’s almost as if the producer placed their feelings upon you and left it for you to carry. You walk away from that film with a newfound sense of dread, anger, or sometimes elation. Feelings can be painful for some people, overwhelming, including the good ones; and I think every artist out there is one of those people. Some may call them dramatic, but others may think they’re just deeply in touch with their subconscious self—which may seem inimitable. It’s impossible to think exactly how someone else would, so it’s impossible to replicate someone's work in an authentic way. After the art is filtered through someone else's mind, it loses value because it’s no longer legitimate.
Where there are art fanatics, there are also people who think that art has no substance, that it's nothing more than a hobby. They might tell you to get a job in something “useful” like finance, or real estate, or stock brokerage, something much more worthy of your time. But while those jobs are difficult and require an abundance of mental agility, they’re replaceable, teachable, and there are plenty of people willing to take those jobs. True creativity comes from within and can't be forced.. What those "useful" people fail to realize is that information can be discovered within art. Cave paintings from thousands of years ago have provided scientists with enough information to determine what kinds of animals people were hunting, how they were hunting them, where, and other practices they would’ve never discovered without ancient art. There’s also no way to express your emotions through those analytical jobs, and living without being able to discuss your feelings in any way is detrimental to the mind. Art provides a backbone to support us in our worst moments. What do you do when you’re sick? Or when you’re sad? Or when you have nothing to do with your friends? You watch movies, or you make funny videos of you dancing to songs on the internet, or you paint.
The fact that art is so fluid means anyone can do it. It doesn’t have to come from someone who has dedicated their entire lives to one specific craft, it just has to mean something to someone; anyone. Art is innovation, it's a way of speaking without speaking at all. Think of all the silent films that were shown not that long ago; those films of Charlie Chaplin, Lillian Gish, and Greta Garbo brought people together to make them mad, made them laugh, cry, or smile. You don’t have to be from the same town to understand other people’s emotions; you just have to pay attention. Art garners that attention, whether you’d like it to or not, and someone's interpretation of a piece says a lot more than their ability to broker stocks.
How Does Bullying Affect Our Students?
TW: mentions suicide
Varsha Ashokraja
The hot topic of bullying has been picking up steam as it rampages across our schools at an increasing rate, and it is about time we make a big change. Bullying mostly affects the victim, but also the bully itself. The bully starts to gain more “confidence” while they pick on more kids. Many schools have protocols to “block” bullying, only when the victim speaks up. In most cases, victims keep quiet, I believe there are two ways to drastically decrease the rate.
We must teach students to cherish diversity. With all the current movements taking place it is important that we respect one another and ourselves. If we have confidence in ourselves, we tend to be protective of it and stand up to bullies. People have been bullying teens on their insecurities on social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok. Insecurities already cause people to shy away or quiet the topic. The hate comments causes teens to “improve” themselves to please the commenter which can lead to eating disorders or depression. Bullying victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to commit bullycide (suicide caused by bullying) than non-victims. Bringing awareness to diversity may stop bullies from commenting but it also boosts the moral of the victim to stand up or to be unaffected by the comment.
Schools should have anti-bullying electives instead of school issued seminars. Bullying in school is still happening frequently, it may be “old fashioned” but it is still just as effective as cyberbullying! Many schools host anti-bullying seminars, however these tend to go ignored and bullying still continues within the school. Having classes where advocates get together to find ways to solve or address bullying comes in handy, we can stop bullying without aggravating the situation. The Covid pandemic made us feel a sense of separation and many bullies are using that feeling to target the victims. Clifton Middle School in Monrovia, California tried this method and noticed a difference. They started to offer more classes around other sensitive topics, increasing the school unity and having students sticking up for each other more often than before.
Bullying, active or passive; physical or emotional; cyber or in-person is a mortal sin and it can drive students to hurt themselves in a myriad of ways. We as a school should promote more diversity and introduce anti-bullying classes to stop bullying early. Are we going to wait to see the day it happens again? Are we going to let the depression rates go up because of this? Is bullying going to be another stereotype in 2022? I hope not, so let's get better.