There are only a handful of things I miss about school, but one of those things is art lessons. I went to a very academically-focused school where Maths, Science and English were considered paramount, but by far my favourite classes always involved holding a paintbrush, pencil or smudgy stick of charcoal.
By age 17 I succumbed to the pressure from my teachers and dropped art as one of my subjects to pursue the academic path to adulthood and a career in the law. Now, on the other side of university, and working in a job that has little to do with my degree, I can honestly say that I regret giving up the subject that gave me so much pleasure.
I always justified it in my mind that I could continue art as a hobby, but it's only now that I have a full time job, my own house and my own space that I have time to dabble in a little creativity, whether that's simply through this blog, by baking something delicious, or by painting a design on a cake for a pagan wedding ceremony as I did last Friday. As indulgent and rewarding as these moments are, even now, they are fewer than I would like them to be.
My advice to anyone who has a true passion for something would be to indulge it, don't push it to one side. That's why I started this blog; to channel the creative element of my personality into something productive. I don't necessarily mean that you should choose creativity over academia - you should always do what you feel is the right thing to do when making decisions about something as important as education - but find a way to express your skills and talents, don't waste them.
Quite profound wisdom Han and I agree. A person will generallydo well at something they are passionate about. The problem with a lot of passions is they don't (or very often at least) pay the mortgage.So most of us end up compromising and following the status quo.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder where I would have ended up up if I had carried on playning the drums instead of dedicating myself to an engineering career. As you know I spent years becoming a qualified engineer only to end up leaving the industry to complete a business degree.
I suppose life is a series of postponements. We keep putting off many things we like and want to do for the sake of the immediate imperative and frequently end up not doing them at all. I also have to agree with your last statement '...find a way to express your skills and talents. don't waste them
May you continue ever to express your desire and talets. We're all an eternity dead!
Love you XX
Feel exactly the same way Hannah and I started my blog for the same reasons. Keep at it and see where it takes you. xx
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