"Magical Realism" is my attempt to cope with the 2024 election results. Through my disappointment, I had difficulty accepting my authentic self, which was experiencing doom and gloom while simultaneously wanting to be a manifester and focus on positive possibilities. I grew up in a "self-help" home, and manifesting was a lifestyle my family subscribed to. It is how my mother, in particular, coped with life by shutting out anything negative and only speaking positive things into being. As a result, I grew up with a lot of repressed feelings and experienced overwhelming guilt for having any negative thoughts. After years of therapy, I developed a healthy balance between positive and negative reasoning, my strengths and weaknesses, and the ups and downs of life. Still, the election threw me off, and I had difficulty finding my flow between polarities. So, I wrote down everything I wished would happen in these modern times as affirmations. As you read them, you can assume that the opposite is currently true. Essentially, this is a self-portrait as seen through my hopes and dreams of the present moment, which is still true at the start of 2026.

While these are the things I wish to manifest, the house of cards acknowledges that, on the whole, my desires are precarious and could come crashing down at any time.

The framed card acknowledges that focusing on one at a time can be more powerful and productive, offering solace and a sense of possibility to the owner.