nardsparagas // &++

If given another chance at life, I would continue doing the things I love to see how they would turn out. As I’ve grown, I’ve realized that I’ve lost parts of myself along the way, and it’s possible that if I hadn’t, I might have become someone different than who I am today.

• I stopped reading parables, encyclopedias, and almanacs at age 6 because my classmates thought it was weird.
• At 9, I stopped learning and talking about dinosaurs because no one else seemed interested.
• By age 12, I had stopped caring about my grades because I felt like someone else was always better.
• At age 14, I stopped entering art contests because for the first time in my life at that time, I lost.
• At 15, I stopped reading books because I thought I could access all knowledge online.
• By 16, I stopped freehand drawing because I was told digital art was superior.
• At 17, I gave up on joining an art program because we can’t afford it.
• At age 18, I stopped improving my digital art skills because my professor was afraid that his students were better than him and gave me bad grades for putting in effort anyways.
• At 21, I stopped trying to make friends at work after realizing I couldn’t trust everyone.
• And at 25, I stopped caring about politics because it just ruins my mental health.

I’ve stopped doing many things in the past, and each time I did, I felt like I was giving up. But, I’ve also learned to accept that some pursuits may not be for me. If I were to stop doing something in the future, I would strive to replace it with something more fulfilling.