JL KAH

I used to think that I am lousy at drawing.  I remember having phobia attending Arts classes during my schooling days.  The teacher is extremely fierce and whenever she speaks, it’s like thunder.  When she starts to scold, you can imagine the ground beneath her giving way.  Come to think about it, I don’t remember ever seeing her smile.

There was one incident that left a deep imprint in my mind.  That round, we were  supposed to draw and paint anything related to the sea.  We were told to find a suitable picture and reproduce it.  I had a tough time.  I remember I was still working on the drawing at about 2am to 3am in the morning of the deadline.  I felt frustrated and as I fought back my tears, I splashed black paint all over the drawing.  There was a small sampan in the sea.  The sky was dark.  The sea was even darker and stormier.  The waves were threatening.  It was raining heavily with bolts of lightning.  The winds were howling.  It was a scary sight.

Although I did not fare too badly for that piece of artwork, I began to hate Arts.  It was a torture attending Arts classes.  My drawings were stiff and dead.  I  kept telling myself that I was really bad at drawing.  That I was not even able to draw simple objects decently.

However, I made a stunning discovery recently.  I have always been fascinated with cartoons.  The adorable Disney characters.  The cartoon bear.  The cartoon man.  The cartoon animals.  The cartoon monsters.  All kinds of cartoons.  One day, out of nowhere, a small voice whispered to me, “Why don’t you learn how to draw cartoons?”  Without much thought, I responded,”I am lousy at drawing.  I can never draw.”

Strangely, some days later, I surfed the internet on cartoon drawing and found an interesting website that teaches cartoon drawing online.  I followed the instructions and was pleasantly surprised that I could draw stick man, wooden man and sausage man.  Although these are basic level drawings and do not call for much drawing skill, I feel very proud of my master pieces.

Can you believe it?  Someone who has, for years, lost faith in drawing can finally draw something decent?  Now I am confident that with practice, I will be able to draw better.  How naive of me to have carried the thought for years that I cannot draw and deprive myself of such immense pleasure and deep fulfillment.

Have you ever been told that you are hopeless at something?  Have you ever been told that you are not cut out for a job?  Have you somehow lost faith after having gone through some bad experiences?  If your answer is positive, do have second thought.  Re-examine the situation.  Be open to possibility as the truth may turn out to be otherwise.

Never let anyone or previous bad experience stifle your potential or creativity.  Regain your faith and let yourself shine.