Why I do art

To answer simply, it’s just something I enjoy. I’m a pretty introverted person so I like projects I can work on by myself. I think that art has a powerful impact on my life. It’s helped me to control my thoughts and feelings. To allow myself to express how I feel without hurting anyone. And it’s way for other people to relate.

I spent a lot of my high schools years feeling pretty depressed. However, it wasn’t the happy hour lucky songs on the radio that censors cuss words that helped it get out of it. It was the vulgar art with hard truths that helped get over the things that were putting me down. It was Belong Here by Taran and Logic by Alessia Cara & Khalid that helped keep me going. Listen to happier songs made me feel like something was wrong with me, that I needed to be happy all the time. Listening to these songs helped me to realize that my feelings were valid. That people can be depressed at times and that’s okay. And no, these songs probably aren’t want drive us sucide, but actually encourage us to help gain better control of these feelings.

Art has allowed me to express myself in a healthy way. I’ve made draw that show what my anexity means to me. And what depression would look like if it were I drawing. Writing stories have helped me to express myself as well. Stories are like a gentler way of making points. It doesn’t directly try to make a point and sometimes people don’t even know a point is being made until they’ve read it several times. There have been times where I’ve felt negative feelings towards someone else. Art has allowed me to work through that by journaling, drawing or songwriting. That way I can acknowledge how I feel without doing anything destructive.

Art has helped me show others how I think. Many people have been able to relate to stories I’ve told. Ones about my own life or fictional stories I’ve written. I think that art can help us to relate to people. People who have felt disenfranchised might like books where the main character is crushed by their relationship and or their environment and finds strength. People that have had bad relationships might want to listen to songs that talk about that.