Churchill High School senior Arianna Soto sees the world differently than everyone else. Her artwork features fine lines and incredible detail of local parks and landscapes. Her work requires incredible focus. And she does it all with limited vision.
“I think having a visual impairment has made me more aware of my surroundings,” said Arianna. “There was a time in my life where I never would have thought that I could create anything. I think it’s important to embrace what makes you different and what you can bring to the table.”
Arianna was born with De Morsier Syndrome, which causes uncontrollable eye movement. She’s also blind in her left eye and has limited peripheral vision in her right eye. While there was a time in her life that this frustrated her, she has learned to embrace what makes her different.
Throwing herself into her art has helped her process the obstacles she has faced. She first realized her love for drawing during art class at Thousand Oaks Elementary School. Her skillset continued to grow at Bradley Middle School and Churchill, where she is now honing her skills in McKenzie Kah’s art class.
Arianna enjoys going to local parks and botanical gardens to take photos and then recreate them or incorporate them into her art. Her love of nature and drawing has inspired her to pursue an architecture degree in college with the hopes of becoming a landscape architect.
Art gave Arianna an outlet to express and accept herself. Growing up, that wasn’t always easy. She still remembers the moment she first began using a cane at Bradley. It unlocked a confidence she didn’t know she had.
“It really helped me come out of my shell and made me open to talking about my visual impairment because it’s a conversation starter. I finally learned to embrace it.”
Now, she’s embracing her future and is setting goals she has the confidence to go after #theNEISDway.
