Nail art became a passion for my young, bored self around the end of 8th grade. I was going to be a high school student and that meant a lot of things. New people, new friends, and of course new nails. I was always a fan of being artistic and doing things related to drawing and painting. I realized, from seeing the trends of the time, that nail art was becoming something big. I took it upon myself to buy some low end nail art paints with thin brushes from 5 Below and began my journey. It was just like drawing with detail and doing henna with a steady hand. The art came easy to me.

After lots of nail polish and bottles of remover, I was able to create practically anything I wanted to.

I created this floral design with pastel paints to test out what a rose would look like. I was more than pleased with the results of the flowers. I wanted to form a simple look with peach and mint green nails and a touch of stripes to add more visual element. While the roses were a bit challenging, the stripes took more dedication and attention than I anticipated.  But finally, I had finished and created a classy yet fun style.

This popcorn themed nail art was a lot of fun to do. I don’t remember exactly why I chose to do this, but I love popcorn so there’s that. It took lots of patience with this design again with the straight lines I had to create. But after that, it became easier. It was a fun challenge to write out letters for the first time and then mix white and yellow for the perfect shade of buttered popcorn.

This design was inspired by the galaxy craze. Everyone in high school became obsessed with galaxy print on their backpacks, shoes, pants, and then, by me, nails. I remember going out specifically to purchase sponges to make the blending colors of blue and purple. Each nail took more time than I’d like to admit but the results were worth it. I finished off with white dots and sparkly topcoat, effectively pulling together the look of a scene in space.

This Union Jack nail art arose from my “anglophile” phase. Many people around my age found a sudden, inexplicable passion for England, red telephone booths, and all things British. In addition, One Direction was quite literally the only thing that mattered to me at the time, and thus, was expressed in my nails. The detail was difficult but I knew the result would be incredible. Showing of my nails sophomore year in high school, compliments flooded my way.

Nail art became a passion for me throughout high school, taking up lots of my free time. I enjoyed making new designs and expressing my creativity in this fashion. While I don’t get quite as much time as a college student, I still try my best to continue the trend.