Artist in me

Ever since I was a child I was really interested in art and craft. Whenever I would get free time I would grab a paper and would draw something on it. It would be sea, beach, boat, food that I had eaten, a table on which food has been placed, a shoe, or anything that I would see in front of me. I did not require anything pretty. I would try to draw something and would paint it. Though it would not be a pretty painting it would still make me happy.

It was something my parents did not like. They believed that drawing is just an idle activity. According to them to progress in the life drawing or painting was absolutely unnecessary. My mother would often say, "you want to become a doctor, engineer, or a reputed professional. You do not require to draw or paint. Read books instead of doing these ugly things". Whenever I would draw or paint I would always receive such painful remarks. Finally after getting hurt again and again by these remarks I had given up on drawing and painting. At that time I did not know how this is going to affect me in the future.

I was in grade 7. This was the first time when we were required to draw diagrams of various organs. It was really difficult for me because I had no idea how to draw these. I was restricted from drawing again and again by my parents and hence even holding the pencil properly to draw the diagrams was a task for me. The diagram of heart made me cry because how much ever I tried I could not get it right. I remember sitting with my notebook for a 2 hours trying to get the diagram close to what was shown in the book. I remember how much I cried when I was unable to draw it. I remember practicing it several times so that at least I could draw it in my exams. Still what I had drawn in my exams could only score two out of ten marks. I remember how much my parents scolded me for not drawing that diagram properly without understanding the challenge that I had been facing. But never did they accept that it was their insistence of me not drawing anything led me to this inability to draw the diagrams.

My struggle towards drawing the diagrams continued even after. I had determined that during the vacations I would spend at least one hour perfecting that diagrams so that I would not have any challenges. I did that for all my vacations to perfect the diagrams that would be included in the academic year. I continued the same even in my college years. Due to practice I could see improvement in my diagrams.

As the academic years ended I decided that I was going to go back on art and craft that I had left in my childhood. I started drawing and painting again. This time no one could say anything to me because I was buying the art supplies from my own money that I had been earning. My money give me the freedom to pursue my dreams that I had left because of the constant criticism from my parents.

Even today they do not like that I spend time in doing art and craft. But now they have no power to tell me to stop it. I think this was the best part of growing up that they could not impose their will every now and then on me.