Have you ever been upset or frustrated and you just want to go somewhere peaceful to escape it all? The best thing I ever did was to establish my own comfort locations. I would call them my hideaways, but they're more like places I go to, to get away from everybody. One time, I was angry and disappointed with my mother, and I couldn't find forgiveness anywhere in my heart. I didn’t know what to do. I remember someone mentioning to me that walking is a peaceful stress reliever, so I took a walk. I came across this statue with beautiful flowers and dragons surrounding it. My symbolic object is this peaceful place. This place is important to me because it helped me learn to love myself. I love being able to come here because it’s a place of comfort and peace, and the Lord is present (church located across the street). The dragons symbolize power, strength, and good luck. The Hibiscus flower symbolizes a perfect woman, and in China, it symbolizes the beauty of fame or personal glory. The Buddha symbolizes understanding and fulfilling destiny. I am not Asian, but I value the spirit of their beliefs. Being around this place has changed my life so much because it has given me a comfortable place to sit and store my thoughts and decisions. Being here, I learned how to love and be myself no matter what, maintain and lose stable friendships and relationships, and allay most of my stress and anger. I would say that I have made the best decisions when I have just simply sat there with the Lord.

– Arianna Galarza

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