This collage is filled with things that personally bring sheer joy, comfort, and hope to my life. It sounds really simple - incorporate the things you like into your day - but I see it as more than that. I see this collage as a tool I can turn to when I’m facing a challenging time. I also see this collage as a form of transformational self-love and as a part of a process of finding my own authentic voice.
For me, self-love is directly connected to self-care. It can be easy to stay slumped in a bad mood or to let anxiety consume my headspace. And it can also be easy to find small ways to practice care and grace for myself in my everyday life. On some days, my healing looks like listening to my favorite music, and on others it could be journaling in nature. I always notice a significant change in my mental wellness when I tap into self-care related to the activities, people, places, songs (basically anything in the collage!) that bring me comfort and joy. This self-care flourishes into self-love and helps me maintain mental wellness.
As for the authenticity aspect, I’ve always been someone who experiences social anxiety and easily feels nervous about being accepted by others. Although it may come naturally to many, I can find it challenging to share openly about my struggles, likes, dislikes, and opinions. Being organically myself is truly important to me; sharing my Collage of Comfort and why I wanted to create it is sharing a very authentic version of myself.
I hope my piece inspires people to find creative ways to include things that have a positive impact on them or brings joy and comfort into their lives.
Sophia Fedus is currently a rising junior at Brandeis University, where she studies Anthropology, Education Studies, and Creativity, the Arts, & Social Transformation (CAST). At school, Sophia is highly involved with Habitat for Humanity and Kindness Day. She is from Madison, Connecticut, where her love for the beach and watching the sunrise started. Sophia was a summer 2022 intern and absolutely loved the opportunity to learn from all the outstanding people involved with The Reflect Organization! She hopes to continue practicing the Reflect values of allyship, authenticity, self-love, and student empowerment.