A quiet newsletter for reflection, creativity, and moving ideas forward, one small step at a time.
Dear Creativity...8 months of possibility
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Dear Creativity, I’m almost a little ashamed that it took me eight months to complete this project. Since I was a child, I have been inspired by my mother’s ability to create beautiful things with crochet: quilts, doilies, bathroom covers, tablecloths, and dresses. Her skill level was extraordinary. She could look at a finished piece and figure out how to replicate it on her own. That’s how deeply she had mastered the craft. When she was alive, I tried to learn from her in small moments here and there, but it never quite stuck. When I discovered Woobles, cute beginner-friendly crochet kits, I was genuinely excited and curious. It felt accessible. Possible. I started my kit during a birthday weekend with friends back in May. We worked on them together… and then we didn’t finish. The unfinished piece sat in its bag for months. Every day I’d see it and think, I’ll come back to that. Days passed. Then months. Until one day, I decided to give myself a gift: the gift of finishing. When I picked it back up, I realized time hadn’t exactly been on my side. I had to relearn stitches I once knew. And because I just wanted to complete it, I let go of perfection in a way I normally don’t. It became about taking a day off and seeing it through. You reminded me, Creativity, that sometimes the only way projects move forward is when we make space and loosen our grip on doing things “just right.” It may have taken eight months, but I finished it. And every time I look at it, touch it, or play with it, I feel a quiet pride, not just in the object, but in the follow-through. In choosing not to let it become another what-if. So now I’m thinking about all those other projects waiting patiently. The ones started long ago. The ones paused mid-way. You keep tapping me on the shoulder, reminding me that on the other side of finishing is confidence, the kind that makes it easier to begin again. This makes me wonder: What unfinished project might be waiting, not for more time or perfection, but simply for our willingness to return and see it through? Innovatively yours, |
Diary of a Wannabe Creative
A quiet newsletter for reflection, creativity, and moving ideas forward, one small step at a time.
Dear Creativity, There’s no shortage of problems to solve in our lives, but the paths we take to find solutions are many and varied. I’ve noticed that the difference between the masses and creators/innovators often comes down to a choice: whether we dance around a problem… or face it head-on and ask for help. Last year, a simple Kickstarter ad stirred something in me. It spotlighted a problem I had been quietly tolerating for years, working on the road with only a small laptop screen. You...
Dear Creativity, Last month, I stumbled upon a praying mantis on my morning walk. It placed itself on the path of the walkway of my apartment complex as I began my journey. It was large, green, completely still, and alert against the gray pavement beneath it. In a world rushing past, it felt almost out of place. I remember wondering how many people would walk right by without noticing. I almost did too. But something made me stop. I’ve been carrying that moment with me ever since. The new...
Dear Creativity, I spent the past week in Austin for my job. This was my fourth year visiting this city to run programs in collaboration with a school. It’s always a busy time: setting up rooms, wrangling technology, fine-tuning curriculum systems, and hosting volunteers. I fall into familiar routines each time I’m there, even though it’s not home. And yet, I’m always surprised by how you show up when I’m in a city that isn’t mine. You’re there in the different landscape filled with murals...