Honestly

Why?

Why are you so disappointed with yourself? 

Why isn’t your art like you wish it could be? 

Why doesn’t your art look like that persons art? 

Why does your art seem plain? 

Why can’t these two hands create something worth seeing? 

These are question you ask your self daily. These are the questions you dwell on at night when all is silent and your laying in bed in a dark room. The answer is simple. It’s been sitting inside you for quite some time now, you’ve just never taken the time to acknowledge it. 

Your current writing. Your current photography. Your current painting. They are not refections of you, your heart, your soul, your passion. Instead, they are refections of other people. The people that you aspire to be. You are trying to mimic what they do, see how they see. Your trying to create something like theirs only to be disappointed when it doesn’t turn out like you thought it would.  Your art is not truly your own, it’s someone else's. You can never fully copy someone else art. It will never be as good as theirs because you are not them, you do not have their same experiences, likes, passions, or creativeness. It will only turn out to be a dud you’re disappointed with. This is why you are not satisfied with yourself. That is why your art isn’t they way you want it to be. Your to busy trying to be someone else instead of trying to be yourself. 

Turn off your phone. Turn off your computer. Don’t look at Instagram. Don’t scroll through tumblr. All you will do is wish you were more like the people you see. You’ll try to become more like them and less like yourself. 

You need to learn the difference between inspiration and imitation. Once you stop comparing. Once you stop imitating. Once you stop what you are doing. Your work starts becoming your own. You’ll be able to grow and prosper in your creativeness. You’ll become satisfied with your work. You’ll be able to cultivate the things you wish to see. It will become your own. Suddenly, you’ll be able to look at other peoples art as inspiration, not use it for imitation. You’ll be able to become your own person and not a mere shadow of someone else. You’ll be able to go places you never thought you would go. You’ll be able to see things you never thought you would see. It won’t be easy, for sure. Creating art that come from your soul takes a lot of effort and time spent editing and cultivating. But in the end it is worth more than anything.  Stop looking at other people. Stop comparing and imitating. Instead, look within. There is beauty to be found. 

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This post is something I wrote for myself. Honestly, I have been struggling a lot lately with my art and creativity. I don’t find it as satisfying as I want it to be. There is always something missing from my photos or paintings.  There isn’t that spark I want from my writing.  Deep down inside, I knew what the answer was.  I knew what I was doing wrong.  I just never took the time to recognize it. So I wrote this as a way of telling myself what I was doing wrong. Hoping that it would finally click with me that I need to stop being a shadow and start being a real creator. Use my two hands for discovering what is inside my heart, instead of trying to mimic others.

 I hope whoever reads this can take away something from it. I hope you can discover that you are a perfectly unique person, unlike anyone else. Your art, your words, your creativity is something no one else can have. Discover what that is in your heart and use it, instead of wasting time trying to shadow someone else.