Eva Schroeder – Youth

I used acrylic paint for the painting, and wrote in Sharpie. For this year, I really wanted to capture my youth. As I am moving on to a new stage in my life, adulthood, I wanted to make a piece to showcase how I am feeling. But as I began to think about what I wanted to paint, I began to reminisce about these last 4 years. They’ve been incredibly wonderful and hard at the same time. I’ve gone through many struggles, and grown as a person because of it. I’ve made many artwork that is centered around these hardships. My submission last year was one of them. But as I was sucked into the nostalgia, I focused on how it has made me, well me. I am at an interlude in my life. In between childhood and adulthood, I’ve made it this far, and the ride was actually incredible. So, I made this piece, as a way of capturing all that my youth was. I went through thousands of photos to land of the ones that I believe represented my high school years the best. I want this piece to be something I look back at with pride and comfort. Because at the end of the day, all the struggles and hardships were fought off, and I was left with beautiful memories that I will carry with me forever. To end, I will leave two quotes that inspired me to make this piece: “I know many are going through tough times now, but this moment can be the most beautiful moment of our lives” – Kim Namjoon, and “The only time you should ever look back, is to see how far you’ve come” – Butterfly by BTS.