Last year, I turned into someone I didn't recognize. I lost the ability to harness my mind. My once nimble brain felt foggy and fragmented. I was unclear and anxious all the time. I have spent the last year struggling to heal myself from the physical and emotional trauma that I suffered when the train I was riding to work crashed and derailed in Hoboken terminal on September 29, 2016.  

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I was trapped amidst metal and concrete debris that had pierced through the train ceiling onto my head. I never felt such terror—not even when I had escaped from Tower 1 on 9/11. I eventually escaped the train wreckage by jumping out of the emergency window. When I was examined at the hospital along with the other injured passengers, I was given an enormous band-aid for the minor cut on my right hand and then sent home; my traumatic brain injury went undiagnosed and untreated for over 3 months. 

As part of my therapy, I took an art class at The Art School at Old Church, expecting it to distract me. Instead, to my surprise, I found myself processing the trauma through my art. By making these train crash pieces, I gave a voice to the terrifying images and sounds that were still plaguing me. Through the brain injury pieces, I was able to express the anxiety, frustration, and cloudiness that I experienced daily. 

In short, DERAILED provides a glimpse into my journey from traumatization to clarity, resilience and hope.