**Painting My Own Reality**

Li Lopa

- Recycled canvas

It's so crazy how long it has taken me to fully trust myself... It's taken me 26 years to understand that I am not failing, I'm learning. It has taken me 26 years to truly trust that what I feel inside is true for me. It has taken me 26 years to follow my own path without feeling a knot in my stomach or guilt. It has taken me 26 years to understand that whenever I make a decision based on my true desires and dreams, I will always be supported in one way or another, no matter how big the step may be. And when I look around, I can see that 26 years is not a long time to learn these things. These are such basic things that I believe we should learn throughout our lives. I see "adults" rushing through life because they still haven’t understood how important it is to feel good. I constantly observe people speaking on an unconscious level, and therefore, they continually attract things they would otherwise claim they didn’t want. The entire vocabulary we grow up with revolves around stress, complaints, misunderstandings, judgment—a kind of inner prison that can be hard to notice. Everything I see out here reflects everything I have within me. Because I am all of it, just as you are all of it. So when I paint my own reality, I paint the parts of myself that I want to grow—the parts that allow me to be happy, sensitive, dreamy, loving, funny, and independent. When I paint my own truth, I paint that same truth all around me. So I wish for you and for everyone to take responsibility for your own canvas and trust yourself, because in the end, you are your own artist. Pure love from me.