When I was a kid, I liked to create. From building things out of Legos, to drawing characters on TV, to writing poems and drabble, to playing songs on my ukulele; this urge to create was always ingrained in me. Looking back on these things, I realized that these moments filled with art made me content.
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The first art form that I am thankful for is drawing and design. When I didn’t have enough words to describe how I felt, I thought. I wanted those images in my head to turn into something, so I drew. It’s something mindless that I can do to get my mind off of things. Although I’ve never been good at drawing, drawing made me realize that I can create anything I wanted. Whether it was scribbling in a notebook, to practicing lettering, whenever I wanted to escape from this world, I picked up a pen to draw my own.
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Another art form that I am most thankful for is music. I started taking ukulele lessons in middle school. I resented it at first, but over time, the more I got to learn the instrument, the more I felt it become a part of me. This was my talent. I felt special because nobody close to me knew how to play the ukulele as I did. This was probably one of the first times that I ever felt proud of something that I could do. When I played the ukulele, it almost felt like magic to me. Whenever I felt sad, I would just sit in my room and play, letting the sound flow through space. That brought me comfort. I can’t recall the number of times I just needed the sound of a ukulele to help me through difficult times. Whenever I feel anxious, I think of a mellow tune. Whenever I miss home, I play a song. The ukulele is more than just an instrument to me, but a way to help me cope. For that, I am so grateful that music is a part of my life.
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Writing is the last form of art that I am most thankful for. The earliest memory of writing I had was in the first grade. We had to write journals. I wrote about seeing a monk seal on the beach and how you could see its blubber every time it moved. I remember my teacher reading it aloud to the entire class and I was mortified. Granted, I was a shy kid and didn’t want the attention drawn towards me. From then, writing has made its way into every chapter of my life. I remember joining the newspaper in my elementary school and writing for that. I used to write fanfictions that are still probably somewhere on the web. In middle school and early high school, I had a Tumblr account especially dedicated to my writings. When I was a junior in high school, I had the honor to write a book. When I was a senior, I joined my high school’s newspaper. And now I’m here in college still writing for HerCampus. The point is, I don’t think I can ever let go of writing. Writing has been my outlet for years. Whenever I was in doubt, I wrote. Whenever I was in pain, I wrote. Through my writing, that was the first place I learned that I could be myself.
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Not only does art help me, but throughout the years, I realized that when you share art, you share happiness. Whether it means decorating the wrapper of a present or doodling on the envelope of a letter, my heart goes into making it presentable for the other person. If I see somebody else enjoying my work as much as I enjoyed it, then that’s my ultimate satisfaction. If I could make someone’s day better, even just by a little, then my work is done.
Art helped me to be myself and helps me make others happy. If it weren’t for my being exposed to these different forms of art, I would not be the person that I am today. For that, I am so thankful that I have art in my life.