Last week, as I spent my final day in Ms. Conforti’s Gr. 12 Visual Arts class working away on an artist reflection, Vice Principal Perrotta visited with his video camera in hand. As some of you may know, he often visits classrooms to document student learning and he asked me to write this reflection. We chatted about my goals after Romero and how art can connect to my future career as a social worker.

Looking to the future, I’m so proud to share that I will be studying to be a social worker at George Brown College come September. I’m so excited to learn and I also know that visual arts will give me an advantage as I look to build a successful career.

Any artistic form, can empower an individual to express and share repressed feelings or emotions. The creative process can be very therapeutic for both future patients and myself as I work to be a support to people in need.

As a social worker, my goal is to protect vulnerable children and support families in need of assistance. With this, my art experience will allow me to think critically, problem solve and look at situations in different ways.

I know first hand that art can be healing.

In my own experience, a social worker was able to get me to trust her by pulling out a bin of crayons and asking me to draw my family. At that moment I knew she understood how I was feeling and that I was safe to be open and vulnerable with her.

From healing to diagnosing a mental illness, the creative process allows for storytelling that transcends languages and cultures. Whereas I discovered art at a young age, adults can also find healing and wellness by putting a paint brush to a canvas, a pencil to a sketchbook, even a crayon to a
colouring book.

The creative process can bring a sense of safety – creating with purpose and accomplishing amazing things that come from inside one’s self. Art brings people together – it bonds people from all over the world. When looking at any art work, you’re able to see a story. In creating, you’re able to to share and be understood.

So, looking ahead to my future as a social worker, I know that art can heal and is a great way to connect and share. I’m so proud of where I am heading and so thankful of my learning experience in the Romero visual arts program.