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Before the famous horns from Boyz n the Hood became a funny inside joke online, they meant something much heavier. They announced the moment when possibility disappeared. Ricky was supposed to make it out. He had talent, people rooting for him, and a future that felt close enough to touch. Then one wrong turn took all of that possibility away.

That feeling has always stayed with me. Watching someone with everything ahead of them never get the chance to become who they were supposed to be.

That is where this version of Billy Spacekid begins.

When I made this piece, I felt frozen too. Frozen in time. Frozen in place. I didn’t know what I was going to do next or who I wanted to become. I just knew I felt like I was falling. Billy being suspended and unable to move forward became a reflection of my own state of mind, but also a larger fear: having all of this possibility inside of you and never getting the chance to fully become it.

Billy Spacekid is a star.

Not because he is famous. Because he represents possibility.

Our stars are us. They are our kids. Our friends. Our dreams. Our ideas. The people carrying something bright inside of them that has not fully had the chance to become what it could be.

Too often, our brightest stars are stopped before they ever reach where they were going. Sometimes we lose them completely. Sometimes we lose the dreams they carried. Sometimes we lose the version of ourselves we thought we were going to become.

That space between who we are and who we might have become is at the center of this piece.

Protect our stars.

And when I say stars, I’m not talking about celebrities.

I mean us.