The 'ism' I choose

I am an eternal optimist. It doesn’t mean I’m always cheerful or happy, but it means I get to experience the whole rainbow of feelings. Pessimists, on the other hand, say they never get disappointed—and that’s true since they spend their whole lives wallowing in a realm of disappointment. It’s like the only color that exists in their world is grey. They are afraid of venturing outside that comfortable numbness.

I would never willingly choose grey. I’d rather have all the shades of black in my life, because it means that I also get to see all the other beautiful, bright colors. I’m not afraid to care even if I might get hurt. There's always a chance that I might not get hurt and end up having something really special. In the game of life, sometimes you need to go all in in order to get the big money. Happiness. 

I strongly believe—no, I know—that the key to happiness is not in avoiding negative feelings; the key is allowing yourself feel, even when it hurts.

Another 'ism' that drains all your positive energy besides pessimism is perfectionism. You might think that perfectionists master the art of positive thinking, but in fact they are never happy with what they do. And yes, I confess to be one, at least in some areas of my life. I like having control. However, I have learned to let go a bit, and a good example of that is the fashion illustration class I attended: even though most of the other students were far ahead of me in drawing, painting, or any other artistic skills, I decided not to care. I concentrated on my own thing and practiced. As a result, I accomplished a personal goal: the best human figures I have ever drawn. These might not be pretty to the trained eye, but they are a victory for me:

 

This is one of the first drawings in the class. It is basically copied straight from a fashion illustration book.

Then I moved on to drawing clothes. This is a test of how transparent fabric looks like.

This is my personal favorite. I know it's not perfect, but it's so much better than the ones I was able to draw before the class!

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
(Winston Churchill)