Look Back

"Then why do you draw, Fujino?" Cut deep, but also felt like a warm hug. As a kid, there was a time when I didn't give a shit about anyone's opinion. I wasn't trying to make some sort of stance or prove a point; I made art simply for the fun of it. In college, I relearned not to give a shit about what other people think and picked up art again, and surrounded myself with friends who were similarly passionate about creating stuff and saw my vision. I met people who saw things in me that I never saw, and I discovered parts of me that I never knew existed. It felt like I had filled a void that was unknowingly in my life for a very long time. After I graduated, I slowly lost grip of that drive to make art and focus on it. Every attempt I made to get into the digital media industry fell flat. But that fire remained. Earlier this year, I decided to revisit making stuff, and I'm slowly getting back into it, but isn't that what ultimately matters? Talent is something that takes years; the rough drafts of a project you might discard will still wait for you for years. It's not wrong to have a drive to be the best, even if there will always be someone better than you. Sometimes our passion drains the best of us. It doesn't matter if it's drawing or writing a script for a movie or TV show, my broke ass doesn't have the means to produce, but it always brings me joy, regardless of what's going on in the world. Nothing can change that. That's what motivates so many to make art. To know that people you have not spoken to in years will still cheer you on means something. It means something to know that you have people who will be excited by and smile at your art. Never stop doing what you love. Hold onto it as hard as you can. No matter what. Nothing or nobody can change that.