by: MARLENA ROBBINS DINÉ, MESCALERO APACHE & SPANISH Major: M.S. American Indian Studies (Indigenous Rights and Social Justice)
art
IS MEDICINE
me up. She said my life was going in the wrong direction and that I had been thrown off my path by my own self. Still, she forgave me, hugged and kissed me, and told me that she loved me. A dark year followed. I became angry, depressed, jealous and bitter. I sat on the couch day in and day out, hiding from friends and family, dormant in a colorless reality, accepting karma’s punishment. In the spring of 2012, I became pregnant and with instantaneous confidence acknowledged my blessing. By the time of my son’s birth, I transcended consciousness from girl to mother. Motherhood is a delicate decision entrusted to guide and nurture the future. Women are the
“...the act of designing and painting re-built the confidence, security and self-esteem...”
TRANSFORM SOCIETY
I met a man, we fell in love. An infatuation that engulfed all of our senses, we moved in together as quickly as we met. By fall of 2010 I enrolled at ASU, determined to complete a degree that I was not sure I even believed in anymore. Our relationship had no vision or future, we could not see past the weekend, and the empire we daydreamed of eventually crumbled. We fought verbally, made overly dramatic scenes in the clubs on Mill, and were referred to as “that couple.” I failed most of my classes, increased my level of debt and resented my family for my failures. I lived fifty feet away from my mom in the same apartment complex and only saw her when I was feeling selfish. Selfish with my time and attention; ego has no remorse. In the spring of 2011, I was arrested for driving under the influence. I spent the night in jail and asked her to pick
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From left to right, examples of Robbins’ art titled “Transcendence,” “Finger Clearance Card” and “Go with the flow.” (Photos courtesy of Marlena Robbins.)
