If you're not familiar with Inktober, well, I'm no expert on what it is and what it all entails. But from what I gather, people who take the Inktober challenge post a piece of original art every day.
For me, it's also indirectly a painful reminder of a hobby I once cherished. When I was a kid, I loved to draw.
It started with cartoons. I drew cartoons all of the time, beginning with doodles (I was and am still in many ways a daydreamer) and morphing into drawing actual comic books of my own. I drew about all sorts of subjects that interested me. I am particularly proud of the Nightmare on Helm Street series I created about my friends and our neighbors, the Helm family. (Still best taken with a grain of salt, in case any of them happen to be reading this. That's always how it was meant, and this isn't Monday morning quarterbacking.)
My interest in art grew also actual art in the form of pencil and colored pencil drawings once I took a weekly art class during eighth and ninth grades. Some of this art I still have framed and in my possession, thanks to Mom.
And then, in the tenth grade, I had an art teacher who unfortunately was not high on me nor on my work. I thought I did some of my very best work for Mr. A. I recall one project in particular that I poured my heart and soul into, and I had it returned to me with a "B" grade. Other such lukewarm feedback followed. My frail, 15-year-old ego was crushed.
It's at about that point in time that I fortunately found other creative outlets. The next year, I continued to develop my love of writing as I joined the school newspaper and also started an underground paper with a few friends. By my senior year, I served as one of the school paper's co-editors. Eventually, I majored in journalism in college.In the years that followed, I also fortunately discovered a love of making home movies, theater, and of course improv in particular, and I'm very blessed to have that creative outlet now on a weekly basis.
Was Mr. A single-handedly responsible for destroying my ambitions as a budding artist? It's tough for me to say. Ultimately, the choice was up to me, but he certainly did not help me in the way I wanted. At the time, I think blamed him for it. I don't have any of those myriad comics now because, convinced I was no good, I threw them all away. It is one of my biggest regrets in life.
The attitude a teacher takes can help make or break a young person's soul. I hope and I trust that my teacher friends are aware of this concept and keep it in mind as they shape young minds.
On Twitter, I recently read this Tweet by a man named Clint Smith:
"One of the only reasons I'm a writer is because I had a teacher in 3rd grade who looked at my poem about clouds & said 'you can be a writer when you grow up.' It stayed w/me forever. Teachers, don't underestimate what your words can do for your students."
I echo that sentiment.
These days, I still doodle once in a while, but I'm nowhere near the artist I once was. It's been decades since I drew my last comic book. When I doodle, I'm keenly aware that my skill for what once was my passion is nowhere near what it was when I drew and sketched. Any ability I currently have to do what I once did with reckless abandon is, I feel, nearly gone. You wouldn't want me on your Pictionary team, either.
This is just to say that if making art is your thing, however and in whichever form you choose to make it, don't let anyone stand in your way. Create, and create some more. If you're just getting started with a new hobby, try and try again. You never know what the end result may be.
