i'm going to america soon to visit my family and friends. go to all my favorite gyms. drive a car. eat hot chicken and my da's pizza. i'm also taking counseling exams (bleh). hopefully that part is over quickly. when i go home to the states for a visit, a professor (and friend) from graduate school asked me to come and speak to a class. i'm really excited about the opportunity, and quite nervous about it.
i keep going thru different ways to tell the story that is my life so far. i thought the best way to do it, is to draw it. i mean, it is an art therapy class after all. drawing and doodling is how i think, it would be a great way to tell the story of me and how i got to cambodia and what's next.
i watch a lot of youtube videos (stay tuned, because i'm hoping to start my own channel in the new year..spoiler alert) and i've seen a lot of "draw my life"videos. it's very similar to an intervention i used to do with my guys when i worked in nashville. i would have them draw a timeline (usually on a whiteboard) and elaborate on the "roads" and "connections" between each event. was it a straight road? a curvy road? uphill? downhill? did you coast? that kind of thing. the road to who and where i am now seems impassible by an modern vehicle.(where are the hover boards we were promised? back to the future has broken my heart.) while, i'm trying my best to be inspiring, 'going for your dreams'....isn't sunshine and rainbows.
pastors, motivational speakers, self-help books, they all make going for your dreams sound like the best thing ever. while it truly is, and i'm excited every day; they make it sound like it's like floating on a cloud to this disney type place where everything is beautiful and there are fast passes for everyone. but no...going for your dreams is not like that. don't get me wrong, it's super fun to be living a dream. there's a lot of fear, second-guessing, anxiety, panic, and shock. then it gets good, then it gets better, and sometime it's completely unbelievable. it's an incredible ride.
i really want these students (and anyone else who happens to stop by...or you who read this) to be inspired to live your life. take advantage of every opportunity, let go of fear. failing is okay. the fear we have of failure isn't exactly being unsuccessful. we are fearful of what people will think of our failure. my only regret in life is that i limited myself because i was afraid of what people would think of what i've done. no one else gets to live my life but me, so why allow others to dictate my stride?
so here's what i've drawn out so far:
these are just a rough draft. i think i might make books out of them. since i have been working on different templates of book making. i don't know. but i am pretty excited about it, i was up until 1am this morning working on things. i'll keep you posted.
hope everyone has an awesome Christmas and i can't wait for 2016!
peace.