City: Carolina Beach

Brain Injury: Fall on Concrete

Explanation of Mask: My life before and after.  Before, I woke up every day knowing I was the eyes of the world.  My life was a sunshine dance, and I was a butterfly.  Then that Father’s Day I was suddenly in a bright light, and my life has never been the same. My lips are the same, but I have no voice.  Parts of who I was seem to continually fly away: my visibility, memories, dreams, and understanding; fly, fly away.  Daily I think, “In the darkness before the dawn, let your soul shine.” The blue coloring on my mask represents my mother ocean, which is my true love.  The feathers represent the following quote: “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings songs without words and never stops at all.” I look at my mask and say, “Don’t let the shadows of yesterday spoil the sunshine of tomorrow.  Never stop looking at life through the eyes of wonder.”