MISA is a character I created to express my frustrations with going to speech therapy throughout my whole childhood. An alter ego of some kind, MISA represents the self-hatred and stigma one can feel. As much as there are positive stories of people going to speech therapy, there are also many negative ones.

I originally didn't plan for it to be as twisted as it is. I wanted it to spark conversation and hopefully normalize speech therapy as not a bad thing, but a good thing. I created this body of work with a twisted and confusing concept to show how it felt going to speech therapy and the constant confusion and discomfort I experienced in many ways. It did not only affect my education; it affected how I made friends, how I saw my family, and how I saw myself—as an ugly monster who can't be loved because she needed help speaking. This piece is an ode to a childhood moniker, but most importantly, to the character I created for the little girl in me that just wanted to be heard.