Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing well. I’m not going to have a long introduction today, just a few sentences before we jump in. Today, we are going to be talking about all of the creative and beautiful minds out there who might not see how bright they truly are.

When I was 14 years old, I started my first blog. My English teacher at the time inspired me to start writing, so the blog was used as a public file for my work. I mostly wrote poems, but tried my hand at monologues, too, and I was so proud of my writing and the little feedback I received that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I finally felt like I had something to offer; I was the weird kid in school, and I was constantly bullied, but writing made me feel like I had a place. Sadly, that dream was cut short a year later at a new school with a new English teacher. She made it a point to tell me that my writing (creative and analytical) was subpar, and that I should look to do something more my speed. I stopped truly writing up until 4 years ago when I started this blog.

There are still times when I sit down to write, that I think back to what that English teacher said to me and I will stop writing. The amount of short stories and poems I ended up deleting or throwing out because I thought, “What’s the point?” and “Why bother?”. So many words left unwritten because someone made me feel like they weren’t worth writing. That’s not right. Everyone has a voice. Everyone has something to say and who are we to tell them to be quiet.

I started this blog 4 years ago and since then, I’ve also started a podcast and a stream. I have interacted with many with you, and the outpour of love and support is truly amazing, but the one thing that sticks out is how many of you have faced similar people who told you that you should give up on your dream or to just stop completely because you’re not good enough. Which brings me to the title of this post…

To all the Van Goghs out there: please keep creating. Keep brightening this world with your thoughts and ideas. Throw paint at a wall, draw squiggles all over your clothes, sing, dance, tell jokes, cook, bake, write, perform… just keep going. Don’t let the world go another day without you and your passions, because even if you think no one cares or appreciates your work, I do. Don’t let everyone miss out on your reality because one person told you to stop dreaming.