Own Your Story and Find Your Passion

Creativity can be a double-edged sword because there is so much that inspires us that we often feel directionless in a sea of options.

This isn’t inherently a bad thing, but sometimes it can feel like we’re OK at a lot of things, but not GREAT at anything. It’s incredibly disheartening and can make us feel apathetic or even depressed.

Finding your passion is hard. Some people find it immediately and for others it takes decades.

I’m here to tell you not to give up. Let me tell you how I found mine.

My path…

I’ve always been a creative at heart and I loved all things crafty. Growing up I thought drawing was my passion.

I carried a sketchbook with me everywhere, doodling and drawing everything, but despite the praise from friends and family something just felt off.

As I got older I began to hate drawing and once I got to a private art school, I realized that not only was I not as good as the other artists around me, but I distinctly lacked the passion they held for it. So I switched to sculpture.

And I tried EVERYTHING material-wise, from ceramics to bronze-casting to mixed media. It was better, but I still felt like I was floundering in the dark. I fell victim to comparison more times than I can count.

Then one day, my mixed media professor assigned us a project using wire and I wanted to scream because working with any kind of metal was the bane of my existence. I was honestly convinced I would fail this assignment, but she just smiled and said, “Tomorrow I’m gonna teach you all how to crochet with wire.”

And my brain sort of stalled because I was so fascinated by the idea. I immediately went and bought a hook and the biggest ball of yarn I could find so I could practice first. After a few hours of You Tube videos, I finally got the hang of creating a chain and a single crochet.

By the next class, I found it very easy to follow her instructions and began experimenting with creating shapes in wire.

But as much as I loved it, the initial thrill faded quickly.

I continued crocheting on and off for a while, but after receiving my Associates degree, I moved back home to figure out my next move. That year was incredibly hard for me and I experienced depression like I never had before.

Between my parents’ divorce, a bad relationship, a job that gave me daily anxiety attacks, and the feeling that I was failing to move on like my friends, I felt so lost. All the creative passion had drained out of me and I didn’t know if it would ever come back.

Near the end of that year I decided I needed a radical change, so I moved halfway across the country to live with my grandmother while I got settled and saved money for my own place.

My grandma is an artist too, a pastel painter, and she understood my creative block better than anyone. She let me paint with her and we bounced ideas off of each other constantly. It was slow at first, but I began to feel inspired again.

I picked my hook up again.

I started following You Tube tutorials again and just made things that looked fun to me. It was so nice to have a relaxing hobby that not only produced something physical, but wasn’t ridiculously expensive either.

Then one day my grandma asked me if I wanted to share her booth at an upcoming craft fair and I said, “Sure, why not.”

With only a month to prepare and literally no experience selling my handmade stuff, I had a hilarious mish-mash of items on my one tiny table. (It’s actually kind of embarrassing to reflect on now.)

But I LOVED chatting with customers and other vendors. There were a few big mistakes, like it never crossed my mind to bring bags for people’s purchases, but I had a ton of fun all the same. And I made about $100 that day.

It was after that craft fair that I decided to jump in with both feet and make this a serious business. I love making things, helping people, and making others happy.

Don’t be a victim of comparison

It’s so easy to look around and think, “They’re so much more successful (or better, or whatever) than me, I’ll never be able to be that great.” It’s simply not true unless you resign yourself to that mindset.

Everyone is entirely unique and no two circumstances are exactly the same.

I only started crocheting a few years ago, and only seriously for the past year and a half. Some people have been crocheting for literal decades, but I have an insatiable drive to better myself and learn new things. I’m owning that part of my personality. What I lack in experience I make up for in sheer determination and stubbornness.

So own your story, your skills, and your passion.

It’s okay if you don’t know what you want to do with your life, no matter what age. It’s okay if you’ve tried 100 hobbies, but none of them fill your soul.

Keep trying. Try new things every day.

Life is too short to be unhappy, so do your best to find what fulfills you.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison

If you liked this article and would like more inspirational content, leave a comment below. If you want to share your story with me, I’d love to hear it. Email me at chanel@cbfiberworks.com or DM me on social @cbfiberworks.

Crocheting and teaching crochet are my passions. If you’d like to learn how to crochet, check out my Instagram for stitch tutorials, or if you’d like to try out an amigurumi pattern, check out my Anton the Armadillo pattern.