Being Authentic Is the Greatest Reinvention of All

Monthly round up — January

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Looking back over my recent stories, I see shades of who I was many moons ago crystalizing into view.

As a student, I lived an amplified life. I gazed on the world with curiosity and wonder. I was more expressive in some ways. I enjoyed Indy films and performance art. I could spend hours drawing. I couldn’t care less about profiting from my creative endeavors.

But then something changed — I began to work commercially as a designer. As my career evolved I developed a pragmatic edge. Some people consider this selling out; I see it as a trade-off.

You trade off some degree of authenticity when you get paid to create. You serve a different agenda.

Trade-offs are a fact of life. The more we grow up, the more we have responsibilities. I am fortunate to make a living in a creative field, yet the work I do is commercial, not artistic.

I’m not unhappy with choices I’ve made, but I would be lying if I said I don’t miss some aspects of my former free spirited self.

Through my personal writing I have reconnected with the whimsical side of my nature. Over the past month I waxed on lyrically about beauty, art…