I created this piece for a Penn State art class I’m taking this semester. For the process of forming an idea, I looked through example artwork of an artist who we were studying to get an idea for what motivates her to create. Then, I looked through my camera gallery until something struck me with inspiration. I was mainly looking for an image of myself to do a self-portrait. I then thought it would be a cool idea to find an image of me wearing a mask and then write a word that would resemble a feeling during this pandemic. I landed on “persevere” because that seems to be the main emotion people are feeling during this difficult time. Everyone is finding their own unique way to persevere through the craziness of each day. The image I chose is actually the first time I ever had to wear a mask to be in public. It was toward the start of the pandemic and seeing everyone wearing a mask in such a common area to be in, such as a supermarket, was so strange, almost apocalyptic. I had to keep reminding myself that this would be the new normal. Now, after almost being through a year of “persevering”, I now find it hard to imagine going back to wearing no masks in a public place.