By Ainsley Winters
When seventeen year old Kendra Pennor looked at her finally finished self portrait, she had a great feeling of pride and accomplishment. She remembered back to when she first discovered her love for drawing, she would sit and doodle for hours. As she matured, so did her artwork. She moved from childlike doodles with crayons to sketches with so much detail and shading. Her father fostered her love for art, he was a stay at home dad and always home with her during the day.
“My dad would tell me how good my drawings were, and he was so proud of my art he would hang them up on the refrigerator,” Kendra remembered.
Kendra took the opportunity when she got into middle school to take Art as an elective, and expanded her skills even further. In eighth grade, she started to realize that art could tell a story, so she became even more involved in creating her personal pieces to say something about her.
“My sketches became my outlet for telling my life story,” Kendra explained to me. “I would have a bad day and just come home and draw and let it all out.”
Kendra isn’t only just involved in Art. She also enjoys sports like Track and Cheerleading. She is a natural leader for her team during the cheer season and beyond. She has the strength to command the attention of her peers as well as the ability to bring everyone together, which is no easy task among girls in high school.
“The most important thing I try to tell everyone is to be themselves. Don’t let other people control you and definitely don’t get involved in drama,” Kendra said.
Despite being someone her peers can look up to, Kendra Marie Pennor is most critical of herself. The hardest thing for Kendra is accepting the fact that she won’t always be right, but she is working to be better at that, and giving herself a break. This is where art helps as well. Sometimes she makes mistakes during her painting or drawing, and she has to figure out a way to incorporate the mistake into the drawing. As a result the drawing evolves and so does Kendra.
“I won’t always be right, but I need to be better at owning it and accepting it”, she explained.
When I asked Kendra what the future holds for her, she said she plans to go to college and major in Art. She also wants to travel anywhere she can.
“The experience of being in a different country would be awesome to me. I would love to be able to see different cultures and different lands”, she told me.
I asked Kendra what kind of career she would like to have in the art world, and her answer surprised me.
“I honestly would love to be a tattoo artist. I think it would be cool to be able to make someone’s picture in their mind come to life through my art.” she said, “I’ve always wanted a tattoo but my parents will not budge. I even made a powerpoint slide to try and convince them but they said not until I’m 18.”
“Even though my mom doesn’t like the idea of me having tatoos, she is extremely supportive.” Kendra states. “She never doubts me and she has always believed in me and my dreams.” Kendra talks about the times when she really didn’t think things could get worse and how her mom always knew the right thing to say. “I think everyone looks up to their mom,” Kendra says “but my mom is like no other. I couldn’t even imagine doing all the things she does while dealing with my brother and I all at once. She really keeps me motivated and staying positive.”
“I think the thing I’m most excited about going to college is showing everyone how much of a savage I am. They will never know what’s coming hahahah.” Confidence is the one thing Kendra has never lacked, and chances are she never will.