Hey, Maybe You Should Start Drawing

Learning with Lee Anne

As I go through my 20s, I’m starting to learn about a lot of things that I was never taught in school or by adults while I was growing up. Though I wish I could have learned some of this stuff earlier, I’m still glad to have the opportunity to learn them. Reflecting on these moments strengthens my understanding of myself, so feel free to follow me as I broadcast my journal of thoughts about certain moments of my life. Allow me to illustrate for you my struggles and the lessons I’m learning about this thing called adulthood.

Drawing

We live in an age where productivity and “grinding” to get to the top is glorified, romanticized, and emphasized. It feels like everyone is constantly hustling, so doing anything otherwise makes me feel guilty for not working more. To an extent, the idea of the grind is a good thing, but there is a balance for everything. I didn’t want to start drawing because it didn’t feel like it was part of my hustle and it would only be a distraction to doing things actually related to my career. A slightly toxic and ill-informed mindset, I know (we can talk about my mental space later).

In addition to those thoughts, I also once believed that I wasn’t allowed to learn to draw because I wasn’t naturally gifted and I was “too old” to start learning. (!!)

However, with the perfect combination of COVID-19 quarantine, a little bit of courage, and my right brain being very loud and screaming for an outlet of creativity, I started drawing.

It’s been extremely rewarding so far because I never thought I could do even a fraction of what I’ve learned to do. I’m even able to illustrate this post about learning to draw!! Turns out -I can be proud of myself for achievements outside of my career or school (a surprise to my newly adult self).

But through this new journey, I’ve learned a few things in addition to drawing skills:

• Life is TOO short — I just want to do what makes me happy
• It’s important to dive deep into the hobbies that interest me the same way I dive deep for anything career-related
• “The hustle” is anything I want to label as the hustle, and right now I’m hustling to find the balance of happiness
• Being proud of myself is addicting, so all I want to do is to keep improving for myself

Learning to draw is the best form of self-care I’ve done in quarantine so far. I still have so much to improve upon in this journey, so stay tuned for progress!

P.S. I still get excited to show my mom my drawings like a little kid and she still reacts the same way as when I showed her my drawings when I was little