My final piece is going to be focused around something I experienced while I was on Spring Break. I want the content of the piece to be focused around gun control, but also on the reality that the world is not a perfect place and therefore we need to be able to make smart responsible choices when we are out in the world. During Spring Break I visited San Juan, Puerto Rico with two of my close friends. This was the first time for all of us that we were able to really be on our own, far from home, and were entrusted to be smart, but enjoy our vacation. On one of our last nights, me and one of the other girls went out on the town and hung out with locals we had met throughout the week. While admiring the nighttime view of Puerto Rico from a historical landmark, we were all robbed at gunpoint. It was one of the single most terrifying moments of my life. 

For the actual piece I want to incorporate photos from the place where we were robbed (the two below) as well as painting and mixed media. I have been working on the painting below for the last week or so once I knew my concept for this project. The painting is of the vibrant streets of old San Juan. I want the painting to appear smudged and partially washed away, but still keep the character of the city. The first photograph below was taken of me in the exact spot where we were forced to lay in the dirt during the robbery, but a few days before it happened. The last photograph is of the above ground cemetery that is a part of the grounds as well. 

I struggle with this memory because one part of me is angered that their citizens had such easy access to guns that they are able to just walk around at night and point them at innocent tourists. And another part of me is upset with myself for being at that location in the first place, and not being a more intelligent tourist in a foreign country.