This article entitled “How Creativity Leads to Self-Discovery” was originally published as “New Life’s Journeys: A Road to Self-Discover” on my previous personal blog in 2015. View the original text here.
Self-discovery comes along in a very unexpected manner. Nothing about life has been more interesting except when something unplanned just happens to you. This same thing also becomes a channel to the pathway where you did not expect that it will go along like that.
Introduction to Self-Discovery
This seems weird for you if you try to think about it. But then again, life is filled with several possibilities and opportunities that no one expects are going to occur at least once in your life. You ever wanted to be this, but that other one happens. It may have resulted in a heavy drama of yours but surely if you just try to embrace these changes, it will surely come out so fruitful and joyful all throughout the years.
Personally, I have never expected that being an artist will become something that I will become passionate about. However, I have already loved sketching anything on my piece of paper. Since I was a young girl, I really loved to draw and draw and draw. Everyone in the family knows that.
Self-Discovery Begins With Self-Awareness
Little did I know that the heavy demands of academic achievement in the family had prompted me to choose priorities. As a result, I chose to forget that passion and drove myself to something else. Because this is what I should do and not waste my time on something I cannot benefit from it.
That was my kind of thinking for years then. That continued until I graduated from college. Albeit the fact that I have not received flying colors when I finished my studies at 20 years old, still, I did make a lot of achievements for the last 16 years of focused study. Yes, I did what society wanted me to do and achieve. Absolutely, I felt really good. Then, the usual, as a fresh graduate, I needed to have a job. So, I applied to a lot of jobs both online and office. I gathered around 50 resumes, but still no work.
How Depression Hinders Self-Discovery
Depressing times of my life came until I landed at a small school and taught there for a year. There, my field of expertise, the talking, the teaching, the drawing, and all those stuff that I am required to do was all set and challenged. But then, though I have already thought about achieving all of these things after 23 years of my life, as I looked backward, there was still something lacking.
Yes, I once forgot about my passion for arts for the sake of pursuing something I never wanted in the first place. Currently, I am working as an online Game content writer in one of the big websites, part-time. So, I have enough time to do stuff that I needed to do and earn at home while doing the artistic stuff that I ever love to do.
Through the help of my family and my ever-supportive boyfriend, I was able to redefine myself more and more each day. Amid the doubts that covered my whole self about my capacity of doing it, I have never thought that being in love with my passion is something that I could also earn, too.
How Creativity Leads to Self-Discovery
Just some months ago, I started to try making journals the first time. It was hard. I watched tons of tutorial videos via YouTube and learned the itty-bitty of their methods of making them every day. While doing so, it required so much patience from me. And because it was my first time, I still did not know the measurements and whatever needed for such estimation needed for each of the journals I made. But still, they looked good.
I tried selling them piece by piece. I was still doubtful if I could really able to sell them. Yet, with the help of my sister, I was able to make several pieces of journals every day and sold them to her friends and classmates at school. Fortunately, many of them said, “Nice, cute, make more.”
These words really sparked me much more. Even my family loved them much, although they doubted my ability to be the next Hallmark and Sterling in the future for me. My boyfriend, who was also an artist himself loved what I make [not because he loves me, but objectively assessed].
Final Thoughts on Self-Discovery
Because of these remarks, I continue to make more and more and more journals. Later on, I created the label to acknowledge my work. This is the sample business name that my sister used for her projects. Then I used it for my journals and online selling, which is now BitchyChickenJournals, an online shop on Etsy.
Slowly, I am able to sell them. The kind of determination and persistence was reaped and all the efforts I did to every speck of the details of these journals are made with love and passion. This is something that I really loved to do. As the day passes by, I already think about exploring more about my artistic capacities and think about that particular thing that I forgot during the last years. And I will go back to it again. This is my road to a new self-discovery.
For those who are interested to have a look at my handmade journals, Travelers’ Notebooks, planners, and more visit my Etsy shop right here.
