City: Independence

Brain Injury:  I hit my head on the corner/edge of a concrete wall.

Explanation of Mask: The top of the mask is dark, representing the initial injury “evidence”. The darker gray represents some of the feelings and confusion the first few weeks. The lighter gray shows a good year or more of my struggling with the FRUSTRATION of everything. The stress and insecurities that it all caused. Struggling to find hope and getting over embarrassment while figuring how to take care of myself. The white area represents coming to terms with a lot of issues the brain injury created. I had to find a new way to do a lot of things so I could fly. I had to find myself again, as some things I simply cannot do anymore. I had to learn to own the awkwardness that comes with a TBI, as I miss social cues. The yellow area represents me gaining confidence in who I am again. Kindness is over the mouth to remind myself and others that words are powerful. The color orange represents joy to me. And I am finding joy in my life after two and a half years.