One of my comic book characters, Tou
As I started thinking about elaborating on finding one’s creative purpose, I realized that there’s a lot to cover and I don’t even know where to start! I figured the best thing I could do is simply start at the beginning.
Allow me to share part of my story. When I was born, I was practically born with a paintbrush in hand. I had always thought that my artistic inclinations had trickled down from my uncle who is an artist, but according to my mom, I have always been the artistic type. I would sit in front of the TV watching Mr. Dressup, following along with his crafts and drawings.
In grade school I would often spend my free time drawing superheroes. I think I started drawing popular heroes like Superman and Batman, but eventually went on to create my own. This evolved into a variety of other creative ideas, like developing game concepts, drawing mazes and comics, and writing short stories.
My parents also signed me up for private art lessons. At first it went well, but apparently I don’t follow direction too well and started drawing superheroes when I was supposed to be painting a flower. I guess you could say that I have often gone against the grain. My parents eventually pulled me from lessons because I was more interested in doing my own thing.
In the final years of elementary school, drawing comics became my primary focus. I had a friend who shared this passion, and though his artwork wasn’t as clean as mine, I admired his ability to work fast and move a story along. I would often start a project and promptly leave it to work on something else. Completing large scale projects hasn’t always been my strong suit, but I have been learning to finish what I start.
This hobby continued well into Jr. High, though things started to change when I entered High school. We’ll get into that another time.
Nevertheless, I think you’re beginning to see what I’m driving at. When I came out of the womb, I did not decide that I was going to be an artist. I did not wake up one day and say, “I’m going to produce a lot of work!” I did not say, “I’m going to get really good at this.” These were all natural byproducts of following my creative inclinations.
I think we have the tendency to overanalyze our passions in North America. We spend too much time thinking, and not enough time doing! I’m sure if you think back there have been times in your life when you really enjoyed what you were doing. It brought you peace and joy and fulfillment. Perhaps someone told you that what you were doing was foolish and worthless, and that you had better get your act together. This is an unfortunate tendency in North America, because we place more value on things that are immediately profitable. What your accuser may not have realized is that they were attacking the very thing that would make you happy. Not only would you be happy doing it, but you probably had (and still have) the capacity to be really good at it!
Oftentimes our passions are so obvious that we have forgotten what they are. Is there something in your life that you would do without even being asked? Is there something you enjoy so much that you never really stopped to ask yourself why you do it? Perhaps it’s that gear stowed away in your garage, or that binder collecting dust in your closet. Pull that out again. Passion cannot wait.
