No more excuses

Previously for my M.A., I centered on the negative side of unhealthy foods and its effects on the body. It was my shout at the top of my lungs with my fist in the air against negative consequences of those foods. Though the passionate anger still burns, my focus is now aligned with a more personal approach.

For my M.F.A. thesis, I will make use of hand drawn images to tell the story of my weight loss journey. Images will be from my memories of the reality of morbid obesity. They will progress from where I started up to when I lost 125 pounds. The images will be grossly exaggerated to more strongly express my emotion. The descriptions for each image will be recorded onto the drawings. They will be placed in different areas on each of the pages to avoid repetition. The images will be in color. The color palette will be derived from the posters I created for my M.A. project [image 8]. The bright, attention grabbing color palette will prove beneficial for the urgency of my story. The completed project will be a fully illustrated, color graphic novel.

In 18 months time I lost 125 pounds, mostly on my own, with very little help. The right people came along at the right times. I did not have the popular reality TV show Biggest Loser, nor any personal trainers. I spent 7 months taking a kickboxing/ body-shaping class, I read dozens of books, and I changed what I ate. I accomplished this feat the old fashioned way: I worked my ass off. One of my life goals is to help others, who are willing, loose weight and exit their private hell.

I want people to know that positive, healthy change, no matter the obstacle, is obtainable.