Q: Beautiful is? A: ARTIVISM

What happens when a mommy named “Art” and a daddy named “Political Activism” have a baby?

They name her, “Artivism!” ( Witty eh? I'm cute and you know it!)

Jasmine is BEAUTIFUL!

Artivism is the expression of Political Activism through an artistic medium. My friend Jasmine is BEAUTIFUL because she uses Artivism to open young minds to the circumstances around the world. Jasmine and I work together as “People Sculptors” or in laymans terms “Teachers”. Something that I have always thought is BEAUTIFUL about Jasmine is that she cares deeply about getting to know the back story on ALL the people she works with. Whether or not it's the name of a 3 year old's dog or the details of what it's like building an igloo in Alaska. Jasmine treats everyone's story with value. I wonder if maybe it's because she has experienced a rather turbulent life so far herself?

Jasmine was born in Iran amidst the turbulences of the Islamic Revolution. Her childhood is full of memories from a war zone. Eventually her family escaped from Iran and sought political asylum in Germany. Growing up in Germany, she experienced racial discrimination and ostracism in many forms.

The beauty of this story is that Jasmine has taken her traumatic experience and used it in an artistic way. Through her art she has told the story about the reinforcement of Child Soldiers in Iran, the oppression of Iranian women under the Burqa and the affects of a war zone on a child. Jasmine is BEAUTIFUL because she is BRAVE enough to talk about her experience, CREATIVE enough to give her art relevance and CONFIDENT enough to say, “You may not like what I have to say, but I deserve to be heard.”

I believe we ALL have something BEAUTIFUL to say. But, first we have to believe we are BEAUTIFUL before we can say it. I encourage anyone who reads this to notice the girls around you today/tonight.... look for the BEAUTIFUL attributes in them and say, “Dudette! You're bravery makes you BEAUTIFUL!” “You're CONFIDENCE makes you BEAUTIFUL!” You will be doing her (and the world) a lot of good...trust me.

To see more of Jasmine's Artivism visit Jasmine Khademi Art on Facebook.