So I’ve just realized 2 days ago marked the 5 month mark since starting my grant. It hadnt even phased me, which i think is both a good and bad thing.
Here’s a quick run-down of what I’ve found to be the most important things I’ve discovered/experienced/done since I started this grant:
--gotten lost a lot and gotten significantly better at handling being lost
--learned about local graffiti crews and documented their constantly changing artwork
--experienced the “art world” here as a student & woman and got mad af lmao
--made numerous acquaintances and friends with diverse backgrounds, two most notable being successful artists which polar opposite mediums/points of views who have all been willing to help me make more connections
--getting tattooed from one of these said artists while getting to know her and her place in/opinion of the contemporary art culture in Mexico
--made meaningful relationships through my awkwardness
--ruined meaningful relationships through my awkwardness
--figured out how to ride the scary-ass buses by myself without having a damn anxiety attack
--been told no by several piercers when i ask to get a double septum lmao why
--completely filled up a 100 page sketchbook
--completed a poetry manuscript and started 2 other writing projects
--realized my internalized guilt due to my privilege
--found a new appreciation, connection and criticalness towards my heritage
--been played by a sad banana
Amongst other things i have no way to completely express without boring the absolute living shit out y’all!
I am so grateful I have gotten this opportunity, realizing I am halfway done fills me with a lot more sadness than i anticipated, because I have come to love this community and have also met some incredible people here who have become an important part of my life. So obviously my next post is gonna be a dorky appreciation post for these two people who have made it very difficult for me to give up.
--Claudia