Hey there, Reader!

In last week's newsletter, I shared with you aspects of the difficult creative journey I've been on for a while.

Now in today's newsletter, I'd like to share with you a personal story that is very dear to my heart. It's about the real-life experience that inspired me to create my online art business.

I've never shared this story publicly before. That means you have the special honour of being the first to hear this story in its entirety!

Part 1: Creative Adventures Half a World Away

Let's travel back in time to 2018 and 2019. During these years, I lived in South Korea. I was working as an English as a Second Language teacher, and I taught English to young students. This period of my life was marked by deep self-discovery and thrilling adventure!

While working at a private school, I met a teacher who I'll name Jane. (For privacy reasons I will not reveal the person's real name).

Jane and I became friends. As the months went by, I learned that Jane was an ambitious overachiever who was burning out because she was juggling a full-time teaching job while pursuing a master's degree online.

Through our discussions, I learned that Jane suffered from depression, anxiety, and frequent panic attacks. At some point, she told me that one of the ways she coped with stress was by making art.

Because I have personally felt the healing power of art on my own mental health, I told Jane that I took up graphite drawing and cartooning during university as a way to cope with the stress I felt while completing my degrees.

As you can see, Jane and I discovered we had a mutual passion for creating art. And as luck would have it, we were both interested in learning how to paint with watercolours. Teachers often feel stressed because they have heavy workloads, so we planned to sit down, paint, and make art as a way to relax and calm our minds.

Filled with excitement, we went downtown and explored a well-known art supply store. Then, we loaded up on affordable beginner-friendly art supplies including paper, brushes, and watercolour paint.

All revved up and ready to embark on this new creative adventure, we planned to make art together on the following weekend.

However, our plans were never meant to be.

Part 2: The Midnight Run

One morning, chaos erupted at the private school. We were shocked to find out that Jane had committed a "midnight run."

In Korea, a midnight run is a term that refers to a teacher who breaks their teaching contract and leaves their job without any notice. The teacher usually leaves the country in the middle of the night, never to return.

Jane fled the country without any warning. Without saying goodbye. Leaving her coworkers, elementary students, and kindergarten classes feeling sad and utterly confused.

Soon after, I learned that Jane had recently received news that one of her family members was diagnosed with cancer. Clearly, her stress had reached the breaking point. In desperation, Jane broke her teaching contract and flew home to be with her loved one.

On the following weekend when we should have sat down to create art together, I ended up going to Jane's abandoned apartment. My boss and I, who were her closest friends, were tasked with organizing and clearing out her apartment.

In the pile of possessions she left behind, I found the art supplies that we had bought only one week earlier. I inherited her unused watercolour paints, and their symbolism forever changed my life.

In the months that followed, I spent hours contemplating the set of watercolour tubes that Jane left behind. I wondered:

• Why did Jane feel that committing a midnight run and abandoning her teaching job was the only solution?
• Was there anything that we, her coworkers and the private school, could have done to support her?

But most importantly, I wondered this:

If we had sat down and made art like we had originally planned, could that art session have helped Jane express herself so that she felt seen and heard? Could creating art in a safe space of like-minded friends have helped her through her mental health crisis? If so, could we have helped her find a solution that didn't end in a desperate midnight run?

I will never know the answer to these questions.

And I never heard from Jane again.

Part 3: Loss Transformed Pain into Purpose

The unexpected loss of a friend made me a better artist because it gave me a purpose—a mission—that is greater than myself.

When my teaching contract ended and I returned to Canada only months before the global pandemic of 2020 started, I realized how important art and creativity were in terms of helping people cope, destress, relax, and heal during those difficult years.

For that reason, I decided to create an online art business to not only teach people artistic skillsets, but also to inspire healing through authentic self-expression.

In the previous newsletter, I told you about my exhausting relationship with creative burnout.

What I didn't tell you is that my creative burnout was also fueled by so much loss and grief over these past few years. I have been coming to terms with the loss of two very long-term friendships, the loss of trust, the loss of old identities that no longer define who I am, the loss of direction in a fast-changing world, and the loss of my old art style.

For the last year or so, I forgot my purpose because I felt burnt out and stressed. Like Atlas, I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.

But now that the fog is lifting, I feel that I'm reconnecting with my purpose—and I see my North Star again. It reminds me that even though loss may feel like a metaphorical death, it is equally a metaphorical rebirth.

They say that during difficult times, remembering your purpose or your why can help you through any challenge. Because in the end this, too, shall pass.

Now I'd like to hand you the microphone so that you can share your story.

ACTION STEP: Click reply and send me an email to tell me what is your purpose or why for making art, Reader? What inspires or motivates you to make art and pursue creative endeavours? If you have never thought about your purpose or why for creating art, can you think of one now? Let me know!

Talk to you again soon,

Best regards,

Miranda

P.S. Thank you to all the readers who responded to my last newsletter with love, kindness, and understanding. I truly appreciate your support. Even though I don't have the time to respond to each email individually, I want you to know that I read every single email that you send me. 🤗

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