Hope can be a very powerful motivator. Through my time in palliative care, I have seen it represented in a myriad of ways: Hope for a cure, hope for quality time with family, or hope for comfort and control of distressing symptoms at end of life. This emotion has been recognizable even during the practicum experiences I have had with patients. Many participants hope to get enjoyment out of the sessions, but during the legacy projects in particular there is the pervasive hope to be remembered. I also bring many emotions to the sessions, with my own personal hopes to help my patients through the AIM.

For this project in particular, I chose to reflect upon the hopes that I have, and how this could be represented artistically. For me, seeing new growth or the potential of something new, brings me hope. My intentions were to capture some of the wisdom I have gained through my patients and incorporate it into this creative project.

Self care is vitally important. When we have compassion fatigue or are 'burned out' we are unable to care for those around us. Working with palliative patients can be daunting to say the least, but some patients are profound with regards to the life lessons learned, which they are eager to share! Capturing these ideas and incorporating them into the above creative practise helped keep me grounded, and eager for the next planned creative art session with my patients!