XII

Emoji This started as a simple idea: what if an emoji wasn’t just some basic, happy little face you slap on a text? What if it had layers—like, real emotions, chaos, and stories behind it? That’s what I wanted to show with this drawing. It’s not perfect, but that’s the point. It’s cracked, stitched back together, and holding onto random pieces of itself. The glasses? Maybe it’s trying to see the world differently. The clock? Time’s always ticking, right? The spikes? That’s just the armor we all end up building when life keeps throwing punches. And then there’s that little gold piece in the middle—it’s still got a heart, even if everything else is falling apart. That part matters. Honestly, this emoji feels real to me because it’s kind of like us. Messy, broken in spots, patched up in others, but still standing. Still trying. Sometimes, we put on a face for the world, but there’s so much going on underneath. That’s what this is about. It’s just a drawing at the end of the day, but maybe