Talent

This page is from my Altered Book of Me that I’ve been sharing.  Again, I want to thank Tam for providing such an awesome class for free!  I may be slow in getting through the projects, but they have all been wonderful to work on. 

This spread is all about using my talents.  I was a very shy child.  It was hard for me to make friends because of this.  I loved music because I could express myself without stumbling over words or feeling awkward.  When I sat down at the piano, my insecurities lessened and I let the music absorb my overthinking mind and just let my emotions flow out of me in the music I played.  Having that form of expression available to me growing up really helped me cope through troubling times.  I still use playing as a sort of therapy.  If something is troubling me I can sit down and play.  Sometimes I play notes off of the page and just get absorbed into the feelings that the music seems to project.  A lot of the time now, I’ll just sit down and make up things.  I think this impromptu creating of my own music has been the most amazing way to express emotions that I cant seem to voice any other way. 

I also have loved to draw since I was very little.  I grew up being the “musical” one and my brother was the “artist”.  It kinda pisses me off that we were labeled as such because I think it limited both of us.  I didn’t fully embraced my artist side until well into my 30’s.  That’s a lot of years that I could have used to further develop my skills.  I also could have used art as another form of self-expression and self-discovery that would have been quite useful in my teens and twenties.  I let someone else’s idea of who I was shape what I did.  Thankfully, I have grown into some self confidence, and lots of stubborness, so I will never again let someone else’s ideas limit me from who I really am.  It seems as time passes I let what others think of me impact me less and less.  Its a very freeing aspect of aging that no one ever tells you about.  I may not enjoy my body growing older and developing aches and wrinkles, but I love that at this age, I can do what I want without worries that others will think I’m crazy, or weird.  I am a little weird and crazy and I love who I am. 

So, that’s how I use my talents.  I express myself in a way that I’ve never been able to with spoken or written words.  It soothes me and allows me an outlet for my over emotional self.  How do you use your talents?