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Kendall Kopta is an artist who has dedicated her works to inspire and empower anyone struggling with low self-esteem and bullying. Kendall has fended off bullies who have used verbal and physical abuse since elementary school. Kendall is a survivor of bullying. There was a time in middle school where she was bullied for having big ears. In response, she had her ears pierced five times.  “I might as well decorate them since people keep pointing them out,” Kopta said. Despite the hardships, Kopta decided to channel all that sadness and anger into art. There were times it got so bad she just wanted to lie down and give up because the bullying became too much. But she didn’t. She fell in love with books and read all the time throughout middle and high school to combat the loneliness. “As long as I had a book, I had a friend,” she explained mentioning that she is finishing her degree in Psychology with an internship at Hey U.G.L.Y., the nonprofit organization that is saving the lives of young people who are suicidal due to bullying. “I create these pieces because I feel they reveal what words can’t,” she said. “No one should feel so bad about themselves they don’t want to live anymore. Life is beautiful, life is wonderful and dang it, no matter what anyone says, you are beautiful inside and out. Let us celebrate our differences and embrace one another because you’re limited edition. And, as Hey U.G.L.Y. says, we are all unique, gifted, lovable, and the you we were meant to be. My advice for anyone being bullied is to find out what your passions are. Just like how I fell in love with art and reading. When the world felt cold, I dove into hobbies that melted away the anxiety. I want whoever is reading this to know you will survive middle school. High school may not be the best years of your life, but…come graduation you’ll be set free to enjoy life to the fullest. And those mean people won’t be there to stop you. I did it and I wish you the strength to do it too. Thank you for visiting my page.”

INTERNAL STRUGGLES
by Kendall Kopta

INTERNAL STRUGGLES represents people who try to hide their mental illnesses. The outside shows a perfectly healthy brain, while the inside reveals a storm of emotions brewing from within. There are various reasons a person would decide to keep their mental illness a secret. One of them being shame. When I was growing up people didn’t talk about things like mental disorders and illnesses because it was a sign of weakness. As a result, it was common for my friends and peers to bury their emotions away out of fear of being seen as weird or different.

For a lot of people, mental illness ends up becoming an unseen struggle that worsens through the years without proper treatment. If you are reading this, please know you are not alone. The world might seem bleak right now from where you’re reading but I promise you it does get better. I say this with confidence because I was also that person who thought I could never overcome my struggles, but here I am writing to you saying it’s going to be okay.

A TEMPORARY FIX
by Kendall Kopta

A TEMPORARY FIX – It’s hard to describe that deep pain in your chest. That feeling of loss and emptiness weighing down your heart like throwing a rock into the ocean. It becomes a fight about keeping your head above water and trying not to drown because these emotions act like a weight pulling you down to the bottom.

It can feel easier slapping on a bandage and saying “I’m Fine” but that pain isn’t gone. It gets bottled away and turns into hostility and anger. It’s important to allow your heart to be vulnerable and heal from past trauma because that bandage works as a barrier. It prevents new pain from entering but that old festering pain can’t leave and continues to grow.

The barrier doesn’t only prevent pain from entering but love and affection also struggle to get through that barrier. It will require peeling off that protective bandage to fully allow that love and acceptance to pass through into the heart. That anger and bitterness will not fill the hole in your heart. It’s only a temporary fix.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with bullying, I encourage you to check out the bullying tab on Hey U.G.L.Y. I recommend Self-Bullying, Cyber Bullied, and Tips on How to Survive Bullying and More to begin with. Also just talking out your feelings to a trusted friend or a counselor will help alleviate some of those negative emotions you may be experiencing.

WAS IT ME?
by Kendall Kopta

WAS IT ME?  This art piece is dedicated to anyone who felt their parents’ divorce was their fault. The child, visually weeping as the parental figures are facing away from each other, displays the growing distance within the marriage. I added a white daisy as a symbol of innocence of the weeping child who is frightened over the loss of stability and uncertainty of what is to come.
Looking at the piece straight forward the outside world can not see the hidden troubles happening within the marriage. The dagger and serpent behind the parents’ backs are the universal symbols of betrayal. It is meant to reveal other problems in the relationship that do not directly involve the child. This piece shines a light on how both parents hurting each other and not working together hurts the child.
When parents divorce, children often think, “Did I do something wrong?” No, you did not do anything wrong. A child does not go out of their way to break up their parents. Do not listen to anyone who claims you were the reason your parents got divorced. As a young child of divorce, I can confidently tell you whatever pain you are experiencing will get better. With the child in the middle of the two broken rings, it further convinces them to think they were the problem.
If you are reading this during a time your parents are separating or considering it, I suggest checking out the bullying tab on Hey U.G.L.Y. It might be hard right now, but you will get through it.
You Are Not Alone:
• Celebrities Who Had Parents That Divorced.
• Celebrities Who Grew Up Without a Father or Mother.
Self-Bullying
• I Deserve
• You Can Not Give What You Don’t Have