I've always wanted to be more creative. I've never been overly skilled at drawing (my stick figures are hard to recognize) or designing or singing. I spent a lot of years wishing I could do those things and admiring those who can-who am I kidding? I still spend time wishing I could do those things. One of my room mates in college had the most beautiful voice that I have ever heard. (Not the room mate who woke me up singing opera every morning!) Recently I was inspired to learn something new, so I checked out some books on learning to draw from the library.
It brought back a memory. When I went through my items (left in storage when we moved out of the country when I was a teenager) a couple of months ago I found some things I'd forgotten about. One of them was a book on drawing. For a birthday present when I was 9 or so I received a book on drawing along with different lead pencils, sketch pad and a gummy eraser. I don't know the technical terms, but I know they were specific to drawing. I tried to draw an animal in the book but gave up after two tries when it wasn't perfect. I traced it then never touched it again. I wonder sometimes at the things I missed out on- because I wouldn't try it if it wasn't perfect, I gave up. I probably would not have become a famous artist but I missed the opportunity to learn and practice a skill. Regardless of what I missed, I'm embracing the opportunity I have now. To self-teach myself with the freedom to fail as well as give my children the freedom to explore new skills.