Still I Rise

I realised something powerful whilst painting Still I Rise. I was no longer trying to become. I already was. As I painted, I felt a calm strength settle in me, a steadiness I hadn’t recognised before. The colours reminded me that rising doesn’t always look like fire or resistance. Sometimes it looks like grace. Sometimes it looks like stillness. Sometimes it looks like choosing myself quietly, consistently, without negotiation. This piece honours the moment I understood that my rising isn’t reactive, it’s inherent. I rise because it is my nature. I rise without forcing, without proving, without shrinking. This is my nod to every version of me that doubted, softened herself, or waited for permission. She doesn’t need to anymore, and neither do I. Still I rise.