Hurdles

“It’s really just a small hurdle.” I have heard this metaphor at least a hundred times, but for some reason reading that text message from my brother really made things click. He was right, it was a small hurdle in the grand scheme of things and I was going to get over it.

I had turned in one of my first large mixed media and acrylic paintings to a local contest and it was turned down with the critique of being “too crafty and unoriginal.” Naturally any kind of failure hurts, especially when you fail right out of the starting blocks, but it’s not the end. It just sucks. So after wincing and holding back tears from my tumble, I am back on my feet.

Tripping hurts, failure hurts, face plants and decking really hurt as my friend Jenny encountered last week, but there’s always a rebound, a high to match the low, a path to take, a hand up, and another hurdle to cross. So while I am naturally disappointed about this first defeat, the race is far from over, and I am recharged and ready to clear the next hurdle.

The beginning

Like many others at the beginning of this year, the American Alpine Club prompted some Big Dream thinking for me. I have always been at home in the dirt and the sand and the pine needles. My scarred knees are generally covered with try-hard scabs and the AAC has reminded me that these qualities make me special, that everyone deserves the chance to dream big, go big, and make a difference. 

It is a scary process however to take these dreams from the ethereal place they live and bring them into the light of reality. Because once they step out of the shadows they are subject to gravity and all other laws of said reality. Luckily being a rock climber has helped me build a decent relationship with gravity and my first few steps in the light of reality have been sunburn free.

I am hoping this blog and portion of my website will serve as a place for me to brainstorm, track my thoughts and projects, and share my process and inspirations. I am not by any means a trained writer, but I do like words so hopefully any inevitable grammar or syntax mistakes will be forgiven with a giggle and a shake of the head. Please and thank you ;)