I almost gave up on this day. The day I let myself seriously pursue being an artist. And yet, here I am setting one foot in front of the other to see what comes of it all, walking through doors the Creator has opened. Those that know me well may have seen all of this coming from miles away, but I was too afraid pursue my dreams. I thought I was being nobel in suppressing who I was for the sake of others around me, when in reality I was only depriving my self of freedom, taking it out on the one's I loved, and denying who I was created to be.
This Journey is both exciting and scary, and I feel like I have no clue what I am doing. But miraculously it is still going forward. I want to encourage all the artist out there who are suppressing their dreams to go, be free. You have been given these amazing abilities for a purpose, a purpose that will see you through to the end. Don't give up before you begin. Don't listen to all the lies that say "it's too hard", "I'm not good enough", "no one will like what I make/write/sing". They are not truth.
Some people may act like they have it all together and it was easy when they "made it", and they might make some really beautiful work. But as a friend of mine once said, "We could make perfect art with without our story, but then it's just pretty, and that's all it is. I want to make something that is powerful. I want to make art where some one says 'that moved me.'" Real art is not about having your shit together and making the perfect piece. Real art is about telling your story in all of its imperfection and mess because that's who you really are. It's about knowing the story that you have been given and finding beauty in the brokenness to share with all of the other broken people in this world and give hope.