A letter to myself (and all creatives who need it…)

Failure : 1. lack of success; 2. the neglect or omission of expected or required action.

Stand your ground. All the hate you receive from people who refuse to educate themselves should not hold you back. Prove them wrong. Do it with love and respect. Or maybe you already do and this is why you speak a language they do not understand...

You are expected to comply, to facilitate the status quo. Don't. Fail instead. Fail proudly, as it is now an act of resistance. State your own definition of success, and live up to that. Then redefine it, and live up to that. Success happens everytime you fail, but you have been wired to think otherwise. Success is not shiny and loud, is takes place between you and the goals you set yourself to achieve. Look at the definition of failure, and see if it applies best to the relationship you have with your work, or rather to the relationship the government and institutions have with your work.

Get better at failing, then find a word of your own for it. Free yourself of those abstract constructs. Focus on making. Challenge the status quo. Surround yourself with the right crowd, create a safe space . Think. Question. Take a break from the news if you need one. Debate. Be more respectful than they are, strive to be the nicer one. Stay open minded. Listen a lot. Ask for feedback and critique before you feel ready for it.

You are not what you make, although it always seems you are. You are so much more than that. You channel something beautiful, something people have, and will have, a hard time understanding. It is invisible, unquantifiable, pervasive, ever expanding but never expendable. What you do is necessary. Be proud!

Creativity cannot be destroyed, such is your strength. It makes you as you make it. You can't retrain who you are. It would show. And hurt. Explore the gaps. Seek discomfort. Don't settle for what you know. Don't take things for granted. Make change, daily, as little as it seems, it is necessary.

Be honest. Be kind. Turn your anger into things you love, or hate, or both. We have a great opportunity to gather, to discuss, although not necessarily with words, and necessarily not in person. The hate and disdain they give makes us one. We are, in fact, stronger for it. Please keep creating, if you don't they'll think they won, 'educated' putrid bunch they are. You'll find a way to cope, hopefully we all do. Hold on.