She gave me the courage to embrace my outside self as a dark-skinned young black woman. My depictions of the actress are used as a representation of myself and all the emotions I struggle to put into words. It's the inner self that I'm still working on embracing. I love portraits because they tell a story about that which they depict. They tell a story of who the person is-what they show on the surface and what may need to be read between the lines of their expression.

Representation is more than just being seen. It's about believing you deserve to be seen and that you matter. The goal is to "get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside," however the lack of the "validation of your external beauty" can interfere with that journey.