Sometimes mother does know best

Growing up, I always liked drawing and generally being crafty. I never thought I was very good at drawing or painting (still don’t, actually), so I stopped taking art classes when I got to high school and they weren’t mandatory anymore. Instead, I took science and math (with some language thrown in for balance). Every year, around course selection time, my mom would try to convince me to take art as an elective. One year she even tried to persuade me to take drafting. She never managed to sway me – I stuck to my guns, arguing that I would never use those things ‘in real life’. Not that I had even the slightest idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I was certain that art and drafting weren’t relevant to whatever path I would take.

Flash forward more than a decade: As soon as I got to university, I stopped taking physical sciences. The funny thing is that I didn’t even miss them, despite strongly defining myself as a ‘science person’ in high school. I have also never ever needed to use them in my day job, beyond a basic understanding of general concepts. And now, here I am, finally coming to the realization that I actually want to be an artist ‘when I grow up’. Would my path have been any different if I had taken art in high school? Who knows. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have made me stumble upon mosaic any sooner. But maybe I would have a few more tools in my artistic toolbox as I set out on this journey, which would be awesome because right now I feel like I’ve got a LOT of catching up to do.

Anyway, the moral of the story is: Kids, listen to your mother. Sometimes she does know best.