Late Bloomers...Still Bloom!

Monday...

“Nothing ever gets easier. You just get stronger.” ~Unknown

First of all, last week was a whirlwind of a week with my art in the Discovery Museum, my performance in Resilience at Beechwood Arts, I set up my Etsy storefront and am selling on my website as well, some new writing of mine is published, and oh yes, I'm getting married too!  You can read some fun updates, see some cool art and more on last week's newsletter - but no worries, you can go to amyoes.com and subscribe to get next week's :)

You can read Discover Inspire Create #12 HERE!

It's Never Too Late!

It's really never late to start anything, no matter how scary.  At 25, I decided to reapply to college, and I've just finished up my second year.   My reflections on being a happy late bloomer were just published in Sharp Heels!  Check out my article "Late Bloomers Still Bloom" here!

"Late Bloomers Still Bloom!!!"

A first time for everything...
...That's also something I proved to myself this weekend.  Yesterday was my first experience being a craft vendor!

I was a bit intimidated when I first sent in my application - I can paint, I can hang my work in galleries, but I had no idea how I would figure out the logistics of displaying my work in a booth, figuring out what is "marketable", knowing what to sell, how to price it, etc.

I'll admit that a lot of googling was involved - many searches related to "how to set up a craft booth" "how to be a craft vendor" "what the heck am I thinking" "why am I taking this on the month of my wedding" etc.  I found some tips on the first terms - the latter two...are still up for debate :)

The coloring page of "Singing Tree" came out so nicely that someone suggested making a big coloring book based on a bunch of my paintings and give it to hospitals.

I had a contest for the kids and had them color in my "Singing Tree" painting!

Between the greeting cards, posters, inchie pins and painting, I had more than enough, and everything was displayed really nicely!

But I did it, it was new, it was risky, but I went in with my best foot forward and I'm so glad I did.

My mom, my dad and my brother were there to support me - all the tips I got were spot on...the top two were:  1 - bring a friend, and 2 - bring a canopy!!!

 Waiting for things to happen...

"Waiting" has been a big theme in my life.  Waiting to be discharged from the hospital, waiting to be able to eat and drink again, waiting until I was "healthy" enough to go to school, to put up my first art show, to bring my one-woman show to New York, etc.

What I realized in time, was that you can't "wait" to live.  You have to start now - just start where you're at, fake it till you make it, and with a little dedication, you will.

I've learned that you can't "wait" for things to be perfect.  I thought the day I was first discharged from the ICU in August 2005 life would be perfect again.  But I was still covered in bags and adhesives, hooked up to IVs, and could barely walk.  

My parents thought I was crazy when I asked them to drive me to a local theatre's open call for the musical Oliver!  My face was sickly yellow, I was thin as a rail, and I still wasn't' able to eat or drink.  But I sang from my gutless gut, somehow I ended up with the lead, and coming back to what I loved - performing - brought me closer to myself.  I felt alive by acting like it.  

There is a difference between "waiting" and "patience."  I think that patience is a trait of understanding, that you need to keep close to your heart in order to ground and center you.  Patience is the quiet, compassionate knowledge that time moves no matter what, and as long as you keep moving forward, life will too - even if it doesn't move in the exact way you'd like it to.

In my head, "waiting" means "stalling" - it's taking a "time out" from life and deciding to "jump back in" when things are how you'd "like" them to be.

So, that's my crazy definition, but I'd like to hear back from some of you...

Do you wait for life to happen?

How do you feel "patience" differs from "waiting"?

It's a tricky question - how much do we have the power to change and initiate ourselves, and how do we know when it's the right time to take a back seat, be patient, and "allow" things to happen?

Patience is step by step...

Anyway, enough philosophizing.  Coming out of my coma in 2005, my biggest fear was that I'd spend the rest of my life "waiting."

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Theoretically, I'm still waiting for a few things to get better - medically things aren't 100% solved, but that will be a continued work in progress.  We are always bettering ourselves, striving for better health physically, emotionally, spiritually - it's always a balance we try to figure out.

Even paint takes patience...layer by layer, letting things dry...

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I think, what really matters though, is that even with all the "waiting" , with all the "patience" you still feel alive.  Whatever that means to you.

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 Step by step....

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 Layer by layer...

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“Do not be satisfied with the stories that come before you. Unfold your own myth.” ~Rumi

See ya tomorrow :)

Mickey was there too - day MADE.

Linked Up at Favorite Things Friday!