So I'm an artist. I can draw, I like photography and all that jazz, but really I like to paint. I don't just pull random things out of my head, and not every one of my pictures have a deeper meaning. Sometimes I just see a picture I like and recreate it, changing a few things. However I have done a few paintings that really mean something. Lately, I've been feeling patriotic - seeing as i'm leaving soon - but torn too: I love America, but I love Jamaica too. So I recently painted a picture that kind of reflects this. I was searching the net for nice graffiti about America and saw a picture of a girl painted on a wall. I had already done a painting about Jamaica and had been meaning for quite some time to do one about America. I figured, well this is good, I'll just turn her hair into the American flag. While I was doodling the basis for my picture however, I messed up her mouth and, taking the easy way out, I put a bandanna over it. I thought it was a great idea, but it didn't really work because you see Americans do have freedom of speech. So I switched it to her eyes, because Americans can be blind to the things around them. They chant over and over their anthem, their pledges, they see America as the place everyone wants to live. They see but they don't see. This saddens me greatly; Americans have a fire in their heart as multicolored and bright as the hair of the girl in my painting, but many are blinded by their love for their country. A lot of people think America is this great and wonderful country, and don't get me wrong, I love it, but it's not everything. When I came to Jamaica I thought that 3 whole years here would be hard, and I’d miss the US everyday and unbearably . However, the question eventually became not how soon can we move back to the US, but instead, how much longer can I stay here. Everyone is so desperate to go to the big places, to move to Canada, or America, and they don't appreciate this little, beautiful, amazing island they live on - full of violence I know, but still wonderful. Don't be in such a rush to leave, don't move through life with your blinders on. Don't see a country, hear what people have to say, and believe what is seen. The foreign places aren't where you should strive to go, life in these places isn't fun and games and a variety of stores for shopping. Seeing is believing, so make sure your country, your society, even your friends and family haven't got you blindfolded.
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