--first off, WELCOME BACK FURAFFINITY USER! Okay, now that that's out the way:

Welcome to a new series I'm pushing wherein I post some article-like entries here, all are of thoughts I have in my brain thing. Thoughts that are maybe thought provoking, perhaps intriguing, and are all open to judgement and responses from the reader. I'd love to know what you think! I planned to do this for a long time now, because I have thoughts I plan on being easily accessible to me, and to others, and posting my thoughts on specific stuff on my journal feels a bit off. :P

So for my first entry, I'd like to talk about... art, as if that wasn't obvious. :3 Specifically, if going into the arts (Drawing, illustrating, writing, music, any form of creative outlets you can think of) is a good thing or a bad thing. My thoughts on it is... bordering on no? *Shields face with arms*--Hold on, hold on, lemme say my peace. Don't hurt my family, they've nothing to do with it.

Now I wanna start off with the bad stuff. The negative side of art. Yes, creative outlet for expressions, all that jazz and yadi yadi yada, but to me [and this is just me] a world with lack of art is a very colorless world. Emotions bottled up, innovations maybe slowed down, but technology and/or advancements of science would probably stay the same. Art [again, imo] is something that can sometimes come off as useless. If I were to redo my life, I'd change my course of life to something a little more business minded. A path that would grant easy money, open many doors, great financial benefits for the family, the only thing I wouldn't ever really get is the chance to fulfill a dream, assuming I'd even have one. You know, one of those suit guys. Conformists. People who listen to the latest Jay-Z album because they're too lazy to even try and appreciate other content. We all know the type! We've maybe seen one! XD I'm saying that with the hopes that I don't step on any toes, but I do mean it: a world where you're only proffessional contribution to the world is art, and even then the whole world will not consider it an actual contribution. People will see it as how I said it, useless. When was the last time a friend of your folks asked you what you did for school, and when you say "art student", how quickly the mood of the conversation changes? All the time? Yeah, same. Doesn't help that my dad is a lawyer, and my mom is a salesperson. Not much money in the art side of the family, haha.

That's financially, how about emotionally? I've heard people come up to me telling me "Man, I wish I could draw like you. All I could do is stick figures." First, when you're a kid, you'd take it as praise and move on with your merry life, but if you're like me, then you know how HARD it took me to be where I am right now. I started from stick figures, like everyone else. And like anyone else, they can progress from it. I chose to do that, some people didn't. Its emotionally exhausting, mentally torturing to even be where I am, where you are now at your craft. You didn't wake up one day and became the artist you are now --*snaps fingers*-- just like that. You've slaved over it. Sure, its a nice thought, but how gutwrenching was it when you had a solid idea but with poor execution, and how scary must it have been when you first thought "what if this happens all the time?"

And then you see other artists do the same thing as you, but the problem is they do it better. You shouldn't compare yourself to them; you've walked a different road, you've lived a different life. But I get it, its hard not to do it. Because these other artists-- THEY ARE SO FREAKIN' GOOD. And then you find out how a long (or short) amount of time they took to master something you still haven't. You give yourself more mind games that can't be stopped.

I probably have more entries on the bad side, but I'll leave it be for now. Great transition, right? XD And to think I was a good writer, lmao.

Now, at this time its probably hard to convince you to put the other foot on the "good side" of art. I'll try though, here it goes.

I stand firm on the "art won't get you anywhere" argument. But the thing is, on the rare miracle that it does, it will be very beneficial to you. Art won't grant you a life of great money, but it will give you a great deal of satisfaction. Art is food for your soul, everyone needs it. It keeps you sane. Put thought onto a tissue paper, and it'll be a memorable quote. Doodle something significant on a corner of a wall, and it'll be a relevant topic to some. Art can be crushing to people with strong insecurities. But having to call yourself an artist, is a very big deal. You innovate, you create, you take thought and make it something physical, something visual, something people will see and talk about. Something they will remember. Something they'd always wanted to see, read, hear, taste, but never knew that they did until YOU made it happen.

And if we're on the topic of how art can destroy you from the inside out, then you have to take it differently. My advice- envy of someone being a better artist than you? They're doing their own thing. They see the world differently from you, and they want the world to see them differently from everyone else. You wanna be like that? Then don't be like them, and focus on your journey. It'll take you years if it must, but its not something you rush. Take your time, but challenge yourself if you want to improve. And when an outcome came out differently, shrug it off, but respect your own effort. When it comes out great-- plug the hell out of that thing. You made it. You added something to this world. Hold your chin up, and display that thing for everyone to see. Improve on it tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and someday someone's gonna come up to you and say "I like your art, I wanna be just like you." And even then, don't stop learning.

That came off as advice, more than a thought, lol. Gist is: you're a creator. Whether you like what you made or not, you created something. That's just one more reason why you're EXACTLY like Picasso. or Kanye West, for the pop culture millenials, haha.