As I was walking with my 5-year-old daughter Micaela last night, I asked her:
“Do you still want to be an artist?”
She responded:
“I want to be an artist, a songwriter, a painter, and an art teacher.”
I want her to make good on that dream.
That’s why I’m here.
I’ve spent the last 28 days doing the hard work of writing everyday.
The scariest thing I wrote was a letter to Micaela.
I knew I was doing something right because the morning after I posted it online, I wanted to take it down. I was scared of what I said. Scared of what I committed to doing.
Scared because it felt like the stakes were higher.
The motto of the workshop I’m just finishing is:
“Do the Hard Work First | Embrace Emotional Labor | Dance with Fear”
I didn’t understand this third part “Dance with Fear” until the feeling I got as I woke up on Sunday morning. The feeling of wanting to quickly revise and take down the letter. The feeling of uncertainty. Is that really who I am? Is that what I want?
What am I for?
Why?
Those are the questions I want to wrestle with here.
The clearer I get, the more I believe I’ll be able to make my art.