To me, art is life. My mom was an art teacher when she was in South Korea and I always watched her teaching her students. She also taught me how to draw and paint, from the time I was 8 years old.

I moved to the United States when I was 15 years old. When I came to this country, one word can describe the United States: "opportunity."

I'm taking an Advanced Placement studio art class at Golden Valley High School.

There are many different ways to express what I want to do for my art work and after seeing the various opportunities in this country, becoming an illustrator soon emerged as my passion.

I won at the Art Expo in Pasadena with a painting called "Agony." I chose the title "Agony" because I wanted to express how people feel pain. I used watercolor and I showed unique characteristics of watercolor, something I like to express.

For the recent student exhibition at Golden Valley High School, I painted a lot of work with oil paint. The theme of my painting is expression of emotion. For one of my art works I used painting knives instead of paint brushes to paint the texture of the hair. One thing that I found to be interesting was how to express a drop of water.

I always want to try finding new ways to express common elements in life. My artistic drive is so consuming that I can't escape the charm of art.

Youhwa Shin is a 17-year-old junior at Golden Valley High School