The Masks We Wear

You sit down. You take a deep breath. And you start working. It could be a poem, it could be a novel, it could be a drawing/painting, or it could be a photograph you're fixing to take. You're working hard at making it your best, and then thoughts start to come to your mind. Will they like it? Whoever 'they' is. You're mom, dad, best friend, sibling? Whoever you let see your work the most. Will they like it?

As you plot/set out your paints and pencils/get your props ready for the shoot/ or open the document with all your other poetry in it, you can't seem to get the thought out of your mind. The end goal is for your art to be widely loved, so hey, you might as well work on it now. You might as well start manipulating your style so that that one person will like it. The more you get to work, the more you start to realize how much you yourself doesn't like it. It's so... not you. And the ease of art has now become ten times harder than it should have been. The photograph didn't turn out as good as it could have, the painting isn't as abstract as you would have liked, and the plot is... dull. "You" have now been taken out of your art. None of it says that "you" did it. It looks foreign to your own eyes. Genuine has now been taken out. Individuality gone.

What happened? When did you start caring so much about what others thought?

It's natural to want people to like your work. It's a way of life, it's apart of art. But when you focus your thoughts solely on what others think, then you won't like it.

Will they like it?

Probabilities are that if you love your work, then others will, too. They will see who you are, what you love, and your passions. They will be able to see genuine art with individuality. That photograph of that flower you just took? They will see the beauty you saw in it. The free flow of that poem describing a thunder storm? They will be able to see what you saw and feel the poetry. The passion and all that time you put into that plot and outline? They will be able to see it in the novel.

We put on masks, trying to disguise who we really are, thinking that others will like our art more. But it holds you back. Don't be afraid to take a random picture if you think it is a good picture. Don't be afraid to write a poem or novel; paint or draw. If it's what you love and your passion was in it, others will see/feel that, too and automatically feel an appreciation for it. (Though there will always be those who will never like what you do. :p)

The masks we wear are holding us back in everything we do...
Are you going to let others define you? Are you going to let your thoughts always wonder to what others will think of you? Or will you let yourself be free and to create beauty that you love...?