Studying abroad in rural Ireland at the Burren College of Art allowed me to reflect upon my deeply rooted past of what it means to be a man. Influenced largely by the introspective environment at Burren, my work took off in a direction that was unforeseen. I discovered a passion for reimagining my masculine ideals through the act of painting and drawing. I reflected on what it was that made me a man, striving for authenticity at all costs. I struggled to reject the familiar traditional masculinity and embrace the uncertain femininity within me. This was a learning moment for me; I need not reject everything that makes me a man, but rather question, redefine and expand my ideas — a process enunciated through self-portraiture.