At the age of 11 or 12, our shadows appear. We get a dark side. The dark cohabitates in our minds along with our brilliant light. Life becomes confusing and sometimes distressing. We want answers; we think there must be something wrong with us; we want things back the they were. But our shadows are the key to the power and control we get with adulthood; they are the key to the wisdom that comes with empathy; they are a necessary torment.

A painting of my little girl, done from a photograph taken in 2015 when she was 11 years old. She’s sitting in the backseat of our car, makeup done for a performance that evening, drinking a hot chocolate and feeling anxious.

I love all of her - the dark and the light - unconditionally. And she will be formidable.