18-year-old Cliffanie Forrester is a normal kid, a Brooklyn high school student who will graduate school and go out into the world to stake her claim on it. In fact, it turns out that she’s already ahead of the game. That’s right: Before she even hit the two-decade mark, this young woman and artist has a painting hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We know: It’s ridiculously, awesome, right? Here’s how it all came to pass: A few years ago, Forrester took a school trip to Uganda, and snapped a photo of a little girl, wearing a white dress and standing in a field. Her art teacher suggested that she paint the photo, and the painting she created is absolutely beautiful. Then, Forrester entered it into a program called P.S. Art, which exhibits the best work from students across the city at the Met. In other words, this is pretty major — more than major, really. Forrester’s painting is now housed within the Met’s walls, and she won a $1,000 scholarship. See her winning painting — and her awesome reaction to the news, below.
