A WORK OF ART
I’ve always been the kind of person who was very driven even as a child. In high school, I took honors classes because I wanted a GPA higher than the maximum of 4.0. I ended up with a cumulative score of 4.12. I did extra things like a varsity sport, student government and something creative like the school yearbook committee. I did all those and more because I set my eyes on entering Stanford University or an Ivy League school. I didn’t get in to any of those schools. I was devastated and heartbroken. As fate would have it, I ended up in the Big Apple instead and entered New York University where I had the time of my life. Not only was it a good school with a 4% acceptance rate, it was also an institution with a personality that was a fit for mine. Everyone was smart and was dressed impeccably. I entered as a Biology student who had hopes of entering medical school, but that didn’t happen after realizing that I don’t function well after 2AM.
After college, I felt very lost. For a planner like me, this is the worst feeling because I had lost power and control over myself. I ended up doing odd jobs like ushering for musicals in the local theater scene and coaching a high school volleyball team. Those experiences were great. When I finally landed a creative job, by accident, I was sucked in immediately. I then realized that my future was already decided at an early age when I was making layouts for the school yearbook. Then I began a plan once more. I knew that soon, I would have to make sound investments that would promise financial returns as well as valuable experiences that I could catalogue in my mind and access whenever I had to troubleshoot a situation life.
My first big purchase was an iMac because I knew that I could make profit from design projects. I did. Years later, I was able to purchase a car that would not only keep me safe and comfortable, but would somehow help me look the part as a director, because as you know, image is everything. I did it. Years later, I finally bought my first home, a small 50 sqm. flat that I fitted with furniture that was my personality and my taste. It wasn’t easy paying for a big purchase like a home, but I did it. In between those purchases were very tough years, problems and situations that really tested you physically, mentally and emotionally. All those years felt like walking on a high wire with just a pole for balance. It was then I would get cuts on my feet, maybe even a few corns here and there. Up to this day, I’m still on that high wire, but I hope I’ve already passed the middle portion.
Today, I have so much more. I have more than two machines to do work on. I have more than one car to take me to places. I have material things that make me look good. I have amazing friendships and relationships. I have a family that is getting larger and larger. I have a stronger intuition that will help me make better decisions. And more importantly, I have beautiful scars that no longer hurt as much as they did before.
Last December, I moved in to a new home and because my taste has evolved, I now want other things. When you have all the basic things you need in life, you start to want other things like art. I’ve always wanted a Jigger Cruz but I don’t belong to that pay grade just yet. Instead, I spent some time looking for younger artists whose vision is similar to the masters, but of course, only time will turn them into masters. I ended up not buying anything because I realized that I am an artist and I do have work that should be framed and hung on my walls. And that’s exactly what I did. I put my art on my walls. More than the actual artwork that I look at everyday, what I see is my life in a frame.
I am a work of art. And so are you.