I went on a roof. I climbed a tree. I stood in the shower in complete darkness and proceeded to blind myself with my camera's flash. The Fool’s Journey—the story told through the 22 Major Arcana cards of a 78-card tarot deck—follows the Fool as he meets a diverse cast of characters that guide him on his travels, a metaphor for the human life. Each of my cards—here displayed in a single sheet—corresponds in name and number to the Major Arcana, but each card’s original design has been reshaped into my own vision. I often diverge from the typically accepted “meaning” of the cards, superimposing onto this centuries-old tradition not only my personal artistic style but also my own metaphorical and symbolic truth. The Fool is an everyman: he represents all those who look to him in hopes of understanding our own existences. However, the same can be said of the rest of the Major Arcana’s personages, onto whom I have imposed anonymity. I ask now, If you are the Fool, am I your Magician? If I am the Fool, who are you to me? Out of this emptiness, we must define who is our Empress, our Hierophant, our Sun. Just as in our lives as a whole, in the blacked-out silhouettes of this series, it’s up to us to determine who we are, how we relate to the world around us, and where we’re going in our own Fool’s Journey. (I’m the Fool; I almost fell off the roof.)

This summer I spent two weeks traveling the West Coast and camping in Kent, Washington as a student of the MLK Jr. Freedom Center on the To Us You Matter Civic Engagement Tour. After experiencing deep internal learning there, my mom and brother picked me up to go into Tacoma. One day we spent Tribal Canoe Journeys on the Muckleshoot reservation with my cousin. As she walking us to our car, she mentioned camping the next night in Oregon for a ceremony and invited me. Saying yes was one of the best spontaneous decisions I've made. On this trip, I was privileged with the opportunity to experience my Indigenous and Chicana culture meaningfully and how it’s sustained through Aztec dance and Chicana scholars like my cousin, Mayelli. The early morning drive from Tacoma to Cape Lookout directly on the Oregon Coast served as a meaningful, bonding moment for Mayelli and I as we discussed the past two weeks, her life as an Indigenous STEM student in Seattle, and social issues we've analyzed in the world we navigate. At the beach, I felt the community of Danza Azteca and that part of her community. After a night of special moments and sleeping with the Pacific Ocean, I captured this intergenerational moment of Mayelli being cleansed with copal by an Indigenous healer. I’m grateful to have had this opportunity to embrace family and culture profoundly and freshly. This moment captures the lifetime of dedication Mayelli has put to dancing and cultural survival.

This portrait is one of my favorite photos I have taken. My goal in taking this photo was to represent sadness in a young woman. When people look at the photo I want them to interpret it differently based on their hardships when they were young adults. I took this photo in the bathtub with my neighbor who often models for my portraits. In this process, I tried many different angles to find the one I liked the best. I also used a bathroom to make the water appear a pinkish purple color. I have found that portraits are my favorite types of photos to take

At first glance, someone may look at this decaying building and not think much. But I find that the contrast between the natural beauty of the blue water vs. the broken windows, rusting metal and vandalism actually creates something really eye-catching. I've explored a lot of abandoned places in the Bay Area and taken a lot of pictures, but I chose this one specifically because I like the main visual interest of the graffiti face. The eyes seemed to stare at me while standing in this spot and I knew I had to take a pic.The lines seem to point at the face and the sun streaming on the floor adds something more to it. I edited the colors slightly, given it a warmer, more rustic-tone.

I wanted to capture the movement of the flowing water in a distinctive form. The long exposure creates flowing lines that direct your eyes upstream, showing how the water churns all the way down the river. I used a polarizer filter to reduce reflections on the water, allowing the natural colors of the riverbed to show through the calmer areas of the river. The photo is shot on medium format color slide film, to achieve a high level of detail.

My advisor, Dr. Infante, was the inspiration for my piece, Looking Forward. As my advisor, she has supported me both academically and emotionally throughout high school. Her classroom is a place of respite for me from the fast-paced, demanding culture at my school. During our time together, she leads my cohort in goal setting, mindful journaling, and grounding breathing exercises, among other activities, spreading both her positive outlook on the future and her intention to create more healthy and sustainable life habits. In this way, my advisor exemplifies the type of person that I want to be: someone who doesn’t strive for perfection, but instead sees life as a constant opportunity for self-improvement. This was the first time I experimented with taking photos on a 4x5 large format camera. In comparison to digital photography, analog photography is a far more involved process. I carefully loaded the film in, adjusted the composition and focus under a hood, and developed the film. I was challenged by the delicate nature of the process, learning through each failed photo I took. The concept of Looking Forward was based on the idea of personal growth and moving past old mistakes–how can we adopt a more positive mindset and reach inner peace? Although mostly engulfed by darkness, light illuminates her face and eyes, illustrating an enduring spirit even in hard times. By capturing the calm, reflective character of Dr. Infante, I hope to encourage the viewer to take a moment of self-reflection.