The Paradoxical Tales of a GenZ Artist

It is no surprise that I love to write. Every since I can remember, I have expressed myself through pen and paper. Of course, as I got older I learned to give meaning to the words; I learned to use metaphors in order to not just write but to create art. I have a very small book that I carry with me wherever I go and I just write and write. My little book holds my breakup stories, my embarrassing first poems, my depressing proses, etc.  However, what I like the most about my little book is that it is mine. The verses are mine. The feelings are mine. The rhymes are mine.


As a loyal consumer of social media, I enjoy oversharing my life with strangers. I am guilty of posting a pretty sunset or a delicious meal with the location on it, which if you think about, is very unsafe (but we do it for the aesthetic, right?) But here is what I think and how I excuse myself: There is something about social media that is strictly tied with art. When you are passionate about colors and composition, making that pretty story does give a sense of satisfaction. And if being an artist means to create something that can transmit a feeling, we are all artists.

I gave up some of my privacy to become an artist of social media. At first, this sacrifice does not seem as much specially when you are following a huge wave of people doing the same; however, that does not mean it is not a sacrifice. The narrative I have created is no longer mine like my little book; It belongs to anyone and everyone with internet access. Scary. For some reason this makes people feel entitled to an opinion of who you are when in reality your virtual character is no more tan just that, a character.

When I decided to create this blog, I did not realize that I was falling into the Valentina people think they know from social media instead of the one from my little book. Why? Even though the answer was simple, I still struggle with the reality that we do not want to show the ugly parts nor the real parts. We would rather play an exhausting role instead of showing we are human. I always thought this would be my little e-book. I wanted to write in here whenever I was feeling overwhelmed or in desperate need to talk to myself, which I have, but I also wanted to publish some pages of the art I have been holding for so long. I postponed my actual poetry further away because I was scared of being vulnerable on the internet.

After a very long explanation, I guess what I want to say is  people from this generation are constantly battling with their alter egos to see who occupies more space in their identities. In my case, I just like to create art out of anything and I have conformed with the art I create on my story when I have so much more. I feel like I already share too much but do I really? From now on, you will see the Valentina who feels empowered but also vulnerable because the most beautiful thing I can share is that I am human.