Mythic Bridge participant-turned-mentor, Alexis Ariel Plaza, debuts her new video about bullying, adolescence, and the power of self-worth.
"We're all told we have a corner of the world and expected to know who we are by 16. I spent most of my young highschool days trying to figure out not only where my corner was, but who I was artistically and as a person. When I entered into the community of Mythic Bridge, I slowly found myself as a person and an artist with each workshop. I started creating pieces for change: I did "Pass the Salt" about drug addiction and "No Apologies" about loving who you are as a human with Mythic Bridge guiding me along the way.
It was at this point where I started to branch out and do things on my own. I decided to take what I learned from Mythic and create a piece of my own. I stayed up late one night listening to this song that had me reflect on my past experiences. Using those experiences, I created the narrative to my rap "Hurting Girl." This piece came from a very personal place with all of the intentions of getting a message across; you never know what someone is going through. Everyone has a moment where they felt it was the end and were being judged left and right. And in some cases it may have been taken to the extremes that I display in the song. I put in my experiences because I felt that if it sounded extremely realistic, the message would be more prominent than making the whole thing up. The hope is for the rate of bullying and depression related suicides to drop with the release of this piece. Maybe someone out there will think twice before picking on the "nerdy" kid in school, or taking yourself away from those who love you." - Alexis
Directed by Peter Freed and filmed at LaLuz Studios, Brooklyn NY, Produced by Mythic Bridge