Reflection

All my life, I have lived with bodies of water: the South China Sea next to Hong Kong, the Yellow River by Zhengzhou, and the Pacific Ocean beside the shores of SoCal. To me, these waters are more than geographic landmarks; they are the threads of my heritage. Growing up, Grandma often reminded me that the Yellow River, also known as the "Mother River," was the birthplace of Chinese civilization. She would proudly tell me that many emperors chose Zhengzhou as their resting place because of the good fengshui the river brought, turning it into something sacred. In school, I have also noticed how the rise of human civilization has been closely tied to water, from Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates to Egypt on the Nile Delta. But even daily, some of my closest memories involve water, whether swimming in the local lake or paddling on a surfboard in a blue expanse. In my artwork, I used a painting of my ID card to show how these waters shape my experiences. Unfolding into a river of personal history, it reveals scenes from my childhood, emphasizing how water connects family, land, and self. The film strips hanging over the ID symbolize the tangle of memories we associate with nature. Working with mixed media allowed me to explore how nature molded who I am, blurring the boundary between the outside and inside. The process of creating this artwork has challenged me to think about how deeply we, as individuals and our civilization as a whole, are tied to the natural world. Nature doesn’t just surround us; it lives within us. Our environments shape our identities, and by honoring these connections, we can better understand both ourselves and the planet we share.