Ya Comiste (Sandia)?

 I think Carmen Lomas Garza's piece 'Sandia/Watermelon' spoke to me the most, because it reminded me of my childhood and present day. I still live with my family and we all love eating cut up fruit from my mom. I have always seen this as a love language even though the fruit may sometimes taste like onion (accidental cutting board placement things). 

This painting depicts Carmen's family sitting on the porch, whilst her dad cuts up a huge watermelon into sweet triangle pieces. Constance Cortez pointed out that Carmen's dad is cutting triangle pieces from the heart of the sandia, which is the sweetest part. The family are eating on a summer night, together en familia. How precious is that? Those are the core memories that stick with us forever. The waxing crescent moon in the sky may symbolize faith and positivity as it is the beginning of the moon phases. This painting to me takes me back to the good parts of my childhood, and I think that is what Carmen might have wanted to convey. As symbolic as this piece may be, the colors and composition are strikingly beautiful. The deep blue night sky, the luminous waxing crescent moon which seems to have a cute face

, the garden, the front part of their house. 

 It reminds me of my mom asking me "ya comiste?" all my life- because she cares if I have eaten or not, and that means so much to me. She brings me liquados de bananda, sandia, papaya, or de muchos differentes tipos. She painstakingly cuts through a 10 pound watermelon for my siblings and I every week, and we have fun topping it with tajin and chamoy, talking and enjoying each other's company. She brings me fruita when I do my homework and now that I know this is a love language, I feel so loved, and happy. I have always wished to be hugged like the other kids at my school or in public, but some foreign parents did not receive that kind of love, so it shouldn't be expected. It's sad, yes but once you grow up and understand them, so it's okay. Now I always ask my family for hugs because consent is important! So now I get fruit and hugs (I'm living my best life).