Once Upon A Teen…

Misidentified

Caroline Schaefer, Senior at Blue Springs South High School, 18

“This mixed media piece is about the depth and texture of how mental illness feels, and the strings that connect when you start recovery. The basis of this piece is understanding misdiagnosis.”

Prompt: Portray the villain (physical, mental, objective) of your personal story in art form.

Modern Disturbance

Charlotte Brownlee, Summit Christian Academy, 16

"This piece represents the spell that technology and work puts on the creative spirit. Modern items, tech, jobs, work, obligations, etc. can most times mislead innovative, creative, gifted people. The villain in most visionary people's story, including my own, is present-day interference."

Prompt: Portray the villain (physical, mental, objective) of your personal story in art form.

Battle Against The Clock

Payton Butler, Sophomore at Olathe East High School, 16

“My piece is meant to portray my struggle with time management, and how I always feel like I’m running out of time. I combined the look of hourglasses, clocks, and clock hands with a dragon because it feels like such a classic struggle, just like how dragons are fairytale staples. Both are a common enemy, but that doesn’t make either of them any less formidable.”

Prompt: Portray the villain (physical, mental, objective) of your personal story in art form.

Spiraling

Autumn Shemitz, Junior at St. Theresa’s Academy, 17

“This photography piece is based off of the prompt "Imagine your life as a story, what does one scene look like?" The overlapping, transparent, spiraling look represents the day-to-day stress of a high schooler. Between schoolwork, sports, after-school jobs, extracurriculars, college planning, and much more, high school is a stressful time for everyone. "Spiraling" is a visual representation of my daily life.”

Untitled

Ammon

“I am an introvert and don’t really like talking to people because I feel that they’ll all judge me hence the pointing fingers. The hands that all pulling, stretching, and molding my face are to show that I’ve been having trouble excepting how I look and that I want to change it.”

Prompt: Portray the villain (physical, mental, objective) of your personal story in art form.

Music Take One

Kendal Marian, Sophomore at Blue Valley West High School

"As the title suggests, Music Take One is when I started playing music. I had originally started playing the piano and flute during elementary and continue to play today. It's always been fun playing music, but I never really got into making my own till I got my acoustic guitar. It's like another world when I sit down and play. It has been a way to connect to my family since I've started school, being able to reconnect with them through something I love."

Prompt: Imagine your life as a story, what does one scene look like?

Books, Books, and More Books

Kendal Marian, Sophomore at Blue Valley West High School

"One of my favorite pass times is to read, just sit in a quiet room and read. It helps me escape the realities of the day even if the day was good. It's something I spend a lot of time doing. Sometimes my mom also joins me, and we just read in silence no conversation needed. She's the reason I got into reading."

Prompt: Imagine your life as a story, what does one scene look like?

Dreams and Gardens

Kendal Marian, Sophomore at Blue Valley West High School

"In elementary my favorite book was The Secret Garden, I read it every day during class. I was obsessed with it till I started putting myself in the story. I somehow would always change it up either running through mazes and defeating monsters or sitting and talking to the flowers. But its always ended with staring at a wore down wall covered in ivy."

Prompt: Imagine your life as a story, what does one scene look like?

Untitled

Cat Lovely, Junior at Blue Valley Northwest, 17

“This image depicts my struggle and how I'm coming out of it with the light in the distance, and the fact that my face is not covered by the clouds.”

Prompt: Imagine your life as a story, what does one scene look like?

Conflict

Cat Lovely, Junior at Blue Valley Northwest, 17

“This image depicts the conflict I've lived with in the past, me staring into the camera shows my resolve to not let my demons on my shoulder win. I was inspired on this one because of my hair and how it divides the image in half leading to an enhanced composition that draws the eye.”

Prompt: Imagine your life as a story, what does one scene look like?

Skinny Lovers

Balusted Hernandez Lusk, Sophomore at Blue Valley West High School, 16

“Hopeless romances, seem to come my way every so often. From the para relation of characters in novels to the crushes I’ve had that only formulated in my mind. In this work this is to pay homage to the people who leave their hearts skinny and hungry. Because they are too shy to really express how they felt. So for their happy ever after.. Let them love wild. Let them (consensually) EAT CAKE!!

Prompt: What does your happily ever after look like?

12th Street Headed Nowhere

Lily Sutherlin, Sophomore at Notre Dame de Sion High School, 15

“For a long time I've felt like I have no idea where my life is going. I have goals for my future, but I often feel like they're unattainable. This photograph is of the 12th street bridge in Kansas City, which is one of my favorite streets to drive down. I know that I'm moving forward, but I don't know what's ahead of me. Sometimes all I can see is darkness, like at the end of the bridge. I know that there are things going on around me and ahead of me, but I feel like I have no idea how to get there, or it just seems like my goals are out of my reach.”

Prompt: Portray the villain (physical, mental, objective) of your personal story in art form.

Pop

Sophia Barlag, Freshman at Truman High School

"When thinking of a time in my life this moment always makes me laugh. Now at the time, I was angry but it was definitely a very cartoon-like situation. I am a fraternal twin and we have our moments (this being one of them), what happened was that I had gotten a doll from my favorite preschool teacher and my twin Andraya thought it was a great idea to basically play a game of tug-of-war with the doll. Well, the head completely popped and flew off its body, very unfortunate for the doll but even more unfortunate for Andraya since she had just broken my prized possession. This story does have a happy ending though as we were able to fix it with the help of our dad! Having a twin definitely puts a twist on my story but I wouldn't change it for the world."

Prompt: Imagine your life as a story, what does one scene look like?

“She presents as ambitious, organized, and practical. Someone goal-oriented and driven by the hustle. A young woman who uses her alignment with the sea goat to drive her highest achievements. Making her own rules along the way while living her very best life. 

As a true Capricorn she is soon revealed as a know-it-all. Someone condescending and impulsive. Her failure of fear brings out actions of procrastination and stubbornness. Once a zodiac hero, and now seen as a zodiac villain.”

Prompt: Portray the villain (physical, mental, objective) of your personal story in art form.

“A young girl who prioritizes academic validation and success. She daydreams of a luxurious life filled with perfection. Perfect house, perfect school, perfect friends, perfect spouse. Her next journey to a land unknown, leaves her worrisome if the next steps can live up to her life at home. The perfection crown is something she shall carry, with hopes this next step will fulfill the life she so desires.”

Prompt: What does your happily ever after look like?

She Thought She Was Safe

Abby Coons, Junior at Lawrence Free State High School

“This piece is called "She Thought She Was Safe" and it shows the multiple perspectives that can exist in a narrative. I painted it with the intent of not knowing if the girl (me) was the person in the reflection of the tea kettle, grabbing the knife, as a villain or if the girl was the victim, trying to block the knife. It begs the question: Can I be the villain of my own story?”

Acrylic on canvas board

Nadine

Autumn Shemitz, Junior at St. Theresa’s Academy, 17

“I wrote a poem and combined it with my photography to create something based off of the prompt "What does your happily ever after look like?" My poem is titled after my girlfriend, Nadine, and is about the purity and innocence of young sapphic love. It is written in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet, which often features themes of love.”

5:45 p.m.

Lucia Thomas, St. Theresa’s Academy, 16

“This piece is an evening in my house, drawn with colored pencils in 5-point perspective inspired by Paul Heaston.”

Prompt: Imagine your life as a story, what does one scene look like?