Jacqueline Matisse

I left class mid-drawing, heart racing, and drove straight to VCA. I didn’t know if I’d be accepted. I didn’t even know if I belonged. But I applied anyway, and everything changed.

I worked evenings in a lab and studied art by day. Exhausted, inspired, alive. TAFE gave me more than skill, it gave me belonging.

I didn’t choose art. It chose me. After years of chasing a life that wasn’t mine. From grief to growth, this is how I found my way back to myself.