30 Day Journal Challenge

I finally finished the 30 Day Journal Challenge last night, having been several days behind almost the entire time. I’m very glad I participated in this. I’d never art journaled before, and sometimes it was a struggle, or I just felt silly. But after only a few days, I could feel an old door of creativity opening.

I was a wildly creative child. I doodled on everything and wrote stories constantly and didn’t think about how “good” any of it was, or whether it lived up to certain standards. In fact, I was proud of it all and freely showed it to people. Creating was as natural to me as breathing. But when I grew up, I told myself I didn’t have time to waste on producing mediocrity, especially when the world was already full of it. I eventually realized that my perfectionism was killing me (across the board, not just in this area). So I’ve been re-programming myself, and releasing my creative self a little at a time. Because I believe that God has plans for her; that I have to crawl before I can walk, and walk before I can run; and that it IS okay to write and draw and make things just for the enjoyment of it, without thought of usefulness or productiveness. I believe that since we’re made in the image of the Creator, creating is an inescapable part of our nature. (Madeleine L’Engle has a lot of great things to say about this.) Everyone has their own art, and there are a million non-artsy ways to express our creativity, so I’m not saying those are any less valid than the traditional arts. I’m just saying I’m trying to get back in touch with those traditional things!

Anyway, this challenge was a good experience and I’d definitely do it again. In fact, I might look for another challenge or set of prompts to do in a few months! It was fun to see my friends’ different takes on the same subject. I also made some new blog friends over the course of the month. :)

Thanks to the awesome Janel for putting this challenge together!

About Brenda

Mom to a preschooler with T1D. Paralegal. Swiftie. Xennial. Grizzlies and Tigers. Pilates and Peloton. Books and fanfic. 901 / 305 View all posts by Brenda →