Alexander, Nyah

I was baptized Catholic and grew up attending Catholic school and church for the first six years of my education. Going to a Catholic school in San Francisco, the imagery of the Virgin of Guadalupe was prominent and was something that I saw frequently in many different forms. Many of my friends and I  wore necklaces and bracelets of her image, she would be painted on large buildings, be a part of stained glass in churches, and candles with her image were common household items within the Catholic community. 

I always knew that this image was important to the Catholic Church and understood it as a depiction of the Virgin Mary that was highly respected because of her virtue and service to God when I was younger. In high school I was able to take multiple art history classes where we studied various artistic renderings of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and I learned more about the history behind the image. I came to appreciate the various elements of pearls, roses, and other adornments common in artist images of the Virgin that are representative of aspects of the story of the Virgin revealing herself to Juan Diego.

My experience with the Virgin of Guadalupe has evolved as I have grown as a person and experienced new things. As a young girl that was constantly surrounded by Catholicism on a daily basis, the Virgin was a symbol of who I wanted to resemble and honor in my life. When I switched schools for middle and high school and was no longer learning about Catholicism as an integral part of my education my experiences with the Virgin changed. It still was a religiously significant image, but was something I admired the history and imagery of rather than acting as an iconic figure and standard to meet.