The End is Where We Begin Again

I'm Megan Stodola, and my piece is titled "The End Is Where We Begin Again." It shows an apocalyptic-looking scene of a field of tree trunks that look like they've been burned. The leaves and branches are mostly gone, and only the trunks remain. The sky is a dark orange, lit from just below the horizon, as if a raging fire has already burned everything in this location to the ground and moved beyond. On the right side of the image, a woman sits on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest, arms crossed, looking down at her feet. Her face is obscured, but at her feet you can see a small green sprout lighting up an interconnected geometric pattern. You can see the green beginning to branch out and flow through the pattern, seeking to connect with the energy of the burned-out trees in the field. To me, this piece is about hope and rebuilding after a dark time. One of the most ungrounding feelings in this world is when it feels like something in life has been burned to the ground. Maybe it was a relationship, a job, or a dream you had for yourself. It feels like everything has been stripped away and there's nothing familiar left to turn to. But in those times, if you can find the tiniest green shoot to focus on and tend to, you might be able to create a lush green landscape once again.