Yesterday I found myself looking through old iterations of my website on the Internet Archive: Wayback Machine site... an exercise in humility to say the least, it's always funny to see the things we once held as high priorities, pretentiousness and floundering attempts at self-branding. Not to mention just terrible website design (heh). But, it was also encouraging and even fun... dare I say thought-provoking.
There are times when I get so caught up in the work I am doing that I forget (neglect maybe) to take the time to look backward and truly appreciate how far I've come. There was a time that looking back on old sketchbooks or older illustration projects would be almost painful for me... cringe-worthy at best. But, these days, I find myself thankful for progress and the process, though I promise you I still cringe (a bit at least). I think it's good to do that self-check every once in a while, when it feels like everything I try to create is terrible or not worth sharing... it's simply not true. My voice matters and I am blessed to create. Hopefully, we never stop learning and always look to improve and enjoy what we do. I need to stop being so hard on myself and find joy in the process.
Be good to yourselves, take that next step, keep learning, keep making, keep creating and always tell stories!