Being creative is my thing, I use it to describe myself more often than not. However, most people are shocked to learn the level of my skill because I don't showcase it (Major FAIL). I have been creating art of some kind since elementary school. I became competitive about it during a Halloween poster contest in elementary school when I was sure my dragon was the greatest thing ever drawn, but I lost to a classmate. Move on to high school where I took AP Art, went to Governor's School for the Arts, and entered art contests to compete for scholarships; you would think I had gained the confidence to showcase my skills as much as humanly possible but...nope. I even had artwork displayed in an actual art museum and won the top award over several others in my city during my senior year of high school. Yet still, I continued to be meek and shy when it came to my talent.
Life continued and I earned a Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Studio Art with the hopes of becoming an art therapist. I was so sure I would live a nice artsy, creative life after I graduated with my Master's in Art Therapy from FSU, but alas that didn't happen either.
"whomp whomp!" - insert facepalm here
Being timid about my craft and my skills has been a character flaw I can 100% acknowledge about myself. I somehow felt that people would just know I was creative by telepathy, I am a life-long practitioner of magical thinking. After being at home for most of 2020 like everyone else, I realized it was time to give up my magical thinking and to put my skills out there. I am working to be more vocal about my talents and to believe that there is space for me to showcase my art and that my art is deserving and worthy of said showcase.
All of this to say, I am learning to get back to what I love and to be unapologetic about it. Investing in myself has meant learning to embrace the things that I enjoy and display my talents beyond my inner circle. Those closest to me will boost me up and tell me how good I am at what I do, so I am here to let them know I am finally going for it full force.
Just like anyone else I have my days of doubt and my days of triumph, but I am determined to invest in the life I want for myself and my family. I am actively choosing every day to pursue what I love and to get to the confident spirit of a woman-focused on bringing her artistic flair to the masses.