"This was my first attempt to express my feelings about military sexual trauma experienced in 1989. Women Marines only made up 6% of the Corps at that time. Creating this piece took a lot out of me, but it provided intense hope. I experienced ""paralysis of analysis,"" making choices about whether to embellish the face with eyelashes, eyebrows, etc. I started over more than once, and learned from each part of the process. I decided that glossy black spray paint worked well with matte red acrylic. It allowed simplicity, and the reality of not being able to speak. The ghosts of my ""silent night"" have less power now. I stand together with other survivors, shoulder to shoulder. I am with them, as I know they are with me. We are not ""less"" than, because of our trauma. We are not less deserving, or less human. We are real, and strong *together*.

I hope this piece causes the viewer to ask, ""Who is this person, to *me*? Is he or she my friend? My brother is sister? Afghanistani, African, or Asian?"