Experimenting with patterns, layered clothing, dyed hair and colorful art mediums, senior Rylee Cain noticed how far she’d come in developing her self expression. As her newfound confidence was noticed, Cain felt compelled to unveil her journey in becoming who she is.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t know that I used to be a lot less expressive than I am now, because I was so scared of being expressive whenever I was younger,” Cain said. “But, now, I feel like I am such an expressive person, and it’s like something that’s unexpected. I heard somebody say the other day that they were scared to wear certain clothes or scared to do things because they’re afraid of other people. And I was like, dang, I used to be like that. Like, I used to be just like that.”
Previously lacking confidence and in shock of how much she’s changed, Cain embarked on what sparked this expressive character.
“I feel like I started being more expressive only two years ago,” Cain said. “Before that, I still was very prominent in expressing my beliefs and stuff, but I didn’t express how I wanted to present myself as much. It’s really just because I just didn’t have the confidence to do it.”
Cain found that using art as an outlet for her authentic personality enabled her to gain experience and practice in expressing herself.
“I feel like expressing myself through art helped me so much,” Cain said. “I didn’t start doing art until I was a freshman in high school. So, I feel like, whenever I started to do art, it made me express myself more through that. It’s hard for me to talk about some things, so a lot of my values come out through my art.”
Cain also noticed a shift in her mindset aided her growth in confidence. No longer bound by others’ opinions, she found a sense of freedom.
“But gaining confidence to do what I wanted and dress how I wanted was also just realizing ‘Oh, I don’t care,’” Cain said. “I just observed people, and I was just like ‘I don’t want to be scared of those things.’ You have to wear what you want, and you have to do what you want; you’re not gonna live if you can’t do that.”
Having accomplished this growth, Cain hoped others’ could take note of the process rather than think she’d always been this expressive.
“I feel like a lot of people always tell me that they wish they had the confidence that I have,” Cain said, “or that they or that they just really like the way that I do things– even in regards to art and stuff. And I just wish that people knew that I wasn’t always like that, because, when I think about it, I wasn’t always good at things that I’m good at now. I just want people to know that there’s a process, and you can do whatever you want. If you really want to do something or dress a certain way, then you can still do that. And that’s possible because you can change stuff, and you can express yourself in any way if you really, really want to. It’s something that you have to work towards, I guess.”