Good Bones

Good Bones, 2025

The pressures that teenagers face at this time can be a lot, but understanding that this is only the first stage of entering adulthood and that they have “Good Bones,” knowing that everything will pan out.

The pressure I felt as a high school senior inspired me, trying to manage AP classes, extracurriculars, and having a job, now coupled with college and scholarship applications, not to mention balancing a social life and trying to understand the world that I was about to enter in the current socioeconomic and political climate.

I came up with the idea in my sculpture class, while we were talking about Dia de los Muertos masks for a project. When talking about skulls, I had the idea of a skull with the face melting off, titled “Good Bones,” which developed into a statement on the pressure teens face in today’s society.

Each item has a meaning behind it:

Globe: The weight of the world and the current state that it is in

Paint Brush: A creative outlet

Dying Plant: Not feeling like being able to take care of oneself alone properly

Cups: Mess/forgotten things like hobbies or projects

Pawn: Feeling like just a pawn in the world

Textbooks: AP World: Everything that has happened in the world (Red for the blood); “NEW” APUSH: The current state of the US; ‘Gatsby’: contrast between the 1920s economic boom and the 2020s recession

Scales: Making decisions and wanting justice in the world

Teddy Bear: Keeping hold of childlike wonder and innocence

Papers: Struggling with keeping up with schoolwork, homework, and studying

Hourglass: Feeling like one is ‘running out of time’ for multiple reasons

Backpack: The academic weight and pressure to do well and to get into a good college