Being Creative For Yourself

I'm going to confess something to you: I am not a good painter. Nor am I good poet, and my pottery is terrible. I am passable at cross-stitch, but only because it is extremely easy to do a simple design (and no I'm not talking myself down because I promised I wouldn't do that in this post, remember?).

And yet the aforementioned hobbies are a very key part of my self-care routine. They provide me an outlet in which to express emotions that would be otherwise damaging, and the space in which to feel. Each hobby offers a different panacea: writing poetry is the balm to my anger or sadness, painting is fantastic for when I am feeling lonely, pottery allows me to escape from my own head, and cross-stitch is the physical distraction I need for when the anxiety starts to creep in.

For a long time I wasn't creative at all. I never wrote anything beyond my essays, I hadn't picked up a paintbrush or clay in a decade and I certainly never considered purchasing a needle and thread. I feel like I taught myself out of creativity because I wasn't good, and why would I do something I wasn't good at? I didn't realise how fulfilling it can be even when you don't have noticeable talent.

Reintroducing these things into my life has been incredible. Once I started to write again I got a little braver, which eventually turned into this blog. Fear had held me back for a long time, but since I began posting my thoughts on the internet I have received such wonderful comments from people I know, and people I don't. It is still a small space – my domain authority isn't exactly impressive and my page views won't excite you – but it is a significant achievement that I have made. I have jumped out of my comfort zone and it has been so rewarding. Sometimes I have kick myself for not starting this sooner, but then I remember to congratulate myself for doing it when I did; we each have to move at our own pace and I guess this was mine. So let's revel in the enjoyment that comes with being creative for ourselves: you don't have to be fantastically talented, you just need to pick up a pen, paintbrush or potters wheel and dive in.

And maybe one day I'll let you read my poetry.

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