Hey fellow seekers!
I had an epiphany most recently about how things from our youth are still tied to us in adulthood, but for some reason we don’t embrace them anymore.
I was talking with one of my sisters not too long ago about how we’re trying to make sure to feed into our own happiness and create identities for ourselves outside of our relationships. We discussed how she’s getting back into music ad wants to take lessons. We talked about her interests in skateboarding and just general things we both either did as children or things we dreamed of doing as children.
Now, this isn’t necessarily something new but that conversation sparked something inside me. In the past 18 months, I rediscovered my love of reading. I have more downtime and I’m able to pick up a book and get sucked into another dimension; which aids in my overall happiness. When we were children and asked what did we want to be when we grew up we picked careers that had almost everything to do with what we were interested in. Since I was creative, my interests stayed aligned in the creative field but it evolved. I went from artist to fashion designer to architecture and somehow settled one graphic designer.
However, most recently I’ve been struggling with my more creative side and my aspirations of owning my own retail business. I’ve been stuck on this 6-year mission to do graphic design because it‘s all-encompassing and is a great foundation for the digital art world, but is the skill sets of a graphic designer something I need? Is it something I should be focusing on? These were a couple of the questions that were plaguing me since I graduated from college. I got into graphic design because it was a creative outlet and I just kind of stuck with it because so many people would point out my talent in it. But just because I’m talented in it doesn’t mean I want to do it ya know?
It has taken me a while but piece by piece I have transitioned and relinquished all roles or projects I was working on that dealt with graphic design because it no longer made me happy. For awhile my creative side stood at a standstill outside of photography.
Photography has been a long standing hobby of mine that I prefer not to monetize. I simply want to capture moments so that I can walk down those same memories later in life, and while I’m at it I like to freshen them up and make em pop — simple edits, nothing really too deep. That's not to say that things can't change though. I'm still figuring out myself.
Most recently, I have decided to take back up drawing. I continue to watch different people on Instagram that I either know in real life or admire their illustration work and I yearn to do the same. It’s been a long time since I’ve drawn. I’m halfway decent when it comes to painting but I haven’t sketched anything since probably my junior year of high school (2011). It’s a scary and daunting task to take up but I understand I won’t get better at it unless I actually practice it. So I’m starting from scratch and I’m investing in myself in order to do so. I upgraded my iPad recently, which I think was fair since I’ve had my other one for 5 years. I also got my parents to invest in me by utilizing my birthday gift for obtaining an Apple Pencil.
I’m intrigued to see where this exploration of a past hobby and interest takes me. Yes, I have found passion and joy in my work life but I want to carry that same joy outside of work. I want to get back to living rather than scrolling through social media because I’ve got nothing better to do. I want to give myself that very something to finally do. Something that doesn’t require other people and I can enjoy the solitude of myself.
So, my fellow seekers, are there interests from your past that you’ve long forgotten that would probably add more value to your life? In high school did you used to make music beats or create videos? Did you enjoy riding your bike before and now find yourself having not ridden a bike in years? My desire here is to help you make room in your life for yourself because when you find happiness within then it radiates to the other aspects of your life.
How are you finding happiness in the ordinary? Have you gone #BeyondYourWindow in terms of adventure, travel, or perspective recently? Feel free to share your journey by engaging with the blog on social media or using the hashtag. As always, happy seeking!