“Just go for it. You may never have this opportunity to express yourself again; so do it while you can,”said senior foreign exchange student Vanda Bednarikova.

From Slovakia, this 17 year old artist would like to use this opportunity to share her relatable struggles. Vanda said, “I think that a lot of people might relate to this kind of art and story. But anyway, this is me and my everyday routine.”

Imagine, an enormous hand. This hand is holding you tight around your lungs and chest. You start to have problems with breathing, your breath is making a hissing noise. You hardly are breathing in and out. Your lower back starts to sweat. Your vision starts to blur. Your hands start to peel off the skin from your fingers, trying to peel off the nails. This large hand clutches your stomach next. Pulling it down like a child is holding mother’s hand, pulling and wanting attention. You try to escape by running, screaming laughing, crying, being angry. Still nothing is helping. That hand is still there. Sometimes this hand relieves it’s grip and lets you enjoy the life you are living at the moment. The sun peeks through the clouds. The warm, bright sunshine caresses your face. It gives you some time to close your eyes and just relax. Slowly you close your eyes, seeing red and yellow. You open your mouth, letting out a loud laugh. You feel your lungs sucking up the air. Then a dagger stabs into your back from nowhere…  And here we go again, the hand will slap you back to where you just came from.