Holly Murphy

Holly Murphy meets me in Trolley Barn park in the heart of central San Diego. She’s an artist who works mostly with ink pens and watercolours to create some impressive pieces. Still one semester from her high school graduation, she speaks with a thoughtfulness that is well beyond her time on the art that’s impressed me since I first came across it. Featuring almostabstract portraits with vibrant colours, they’re a provoking bunch that show great talent and immense promise in the coming years of her work. We sat down to talk numbers versus individuality in the world of college applications and school stress.

“I feel like I kind of see myself as a number,” Holly explains. With graduation coming up in six months, she’s just finished the application process for university, and art keeps her sane by helping separate herself from the constant barrage of test scores and grades she must provide for applications. “Being able to be creative kind of makes me feel like more of an individual, and gives me kind of more of a sense of purpose.”

The DIY scene, as she sees it, benefits everyone the same way. “For people who are really into school, it’s a way to escape from that and be able to find what makes you an individual. And for people who maybe don’t feel like they fit in at school, it’s another way to be like, no, I am good at something. I am talented.

“I feel like if you have bad grades or whatever, people just see you as not worth it, or you don’t work hard, or you’re lazy, but if you have this other community, people see

something special in you, and it makes you feel worth it.”

Despite her passion for the arts, Holly is choosing to pursue a STEM path at university, but she has a few good reasons. “My mom has always kind of go the science route,” she tells me when I ask whether it was her own choice or not, “but I definitely enjoy science, it’s not like I’m being forced or I don’t want to do it. And I think that it’s important to go into a

science major, especially in the world that we’re living in, especially because of climate change and all that kind of stuff. I really would like to make a difference in that.”

Her choice also comes from what seems like a common one: stable living. “Sometimes I wish that I could just be an art major, or I could do that kind of stuff and know that I would be able to have a secure way to live.”

She finds others in the scene a great way of boosting her confidence and finding constructive criticism of her work. “I can go to other artists and I can be inspired by them, and ask them, “How did you do this?” or “What are you doing to make this kind of art?” So you can always be inspired, you can always get good ideas.” Barring even the building of skill, her own belief in herself can grow off of others, and she can do the same.