Inspiration Through Art: Mikayla Bush

Senior Mikayla Bush says that she “…was always that person standing in the corner,” but she is much more than that. 

Born and raised in Verona, New Jersey, Mikayla’s roots date back to when her father lived in Verona when he was growing up. He also went to Verona High School, and grew up in the house next to his family’s current home. Mikayla’s mother is from Minnesota, and was a nanny for a local family when her and Mikayla’s dad met, and the rest is history. 

Mikayla enjoys listening to music, watching television, reading, painting, and drawing. She is extremely passionate about art, and would love to pursue it in the future. 

“I would love to become an art therapist,” she says with a hint of optimism. She would love to be able to help people who have felt the way she has felt during times, “I was able to draw what I was feeling, which helped me… I want to help people who may have felt what I felt.” In the future, she sees herself getting a job either in Georgia or Pennsylvania, since she enjoys those places, after staying in the local area for some time. 

Mikayla cannot pursue this future without a driving force. She is motivated by many different factors in her life including her urge to help people in any way that she can. She wants to be able to reach out to people. Her boyfriend, Will, is also a big motivator in her life. With a smile, she says, “He’s helped me with so many problems that I’ve gone through… he helps me see the reality.” 

When she’s not at school, or hanging out with friends, Mikayla can be found reading, or watching TV. With a bright laugh she says, “I could be a six-year-old watching cartoons… but then I’ll be watching a reality show.” 

When asked if she could change anything about the past, Mikayla says, with a glow in her brown eyes, “I wouldn’t change anything for the reason that everything that I’ve been through, good or bad… has lead me to be the person I am today.”