Diary of an Introvert with Cabin Fever: 4/13/2017

Healing. The one thing that we all have in common; we all need healing.

I have been endlessly looking for healing everywhere. I have lived a very lucky and charmed life for most of my time on this earth. That perfect world I lived in was completely demolished, down to the foundation of lies and unrealistic ideals that it was built upon.

It turns out the thing that I needed to heal was something I always had and simply lost for a time.

Art. Drawing. Creativity.

I said in my last article that art heals and I believe this to be true.

Now I am in a position to teach this to someone else. I can make someone’s life a little less painful with my philosophy.

My little cousin, M, is about to graduate from high school. We haven’t been super close since I moved away from her, but I have an opportunity to take part in a graduation gift for her. I want to write a letter to her about my favorite memory of her.

M and I are a lot alike. We’re both introverts with over-achieving older siblings. I had a hard time finding my place in the family and she did too. She found some solace that I never found in sports, but it wasn’t a purely her thing.

Anime. I have been an anime fan since middle school. I got my start in writing because I was writing anime fanfiction.

No one in my family really understands the appeal so I can’t connect with them. So when my cousin got into middle school, I started introducing her to some anime.

Fullmetal Alchemist being just one example.

After a while, I got to wondering if she was actually enjoying herself.I didn’t want to be like her brothers or parents.I didn’t want to force her to do what I liked to do if she didn’t enjoy it.

The next time I went into her room, my fears were quelled; she had drawn pictures of her favorite characters from all the shows that we had watched together, and hung them up on her wall. It made me so happy to see this. I don’t want to give myself too much credit, but I felt like maybe I had helped her find her thing.

Now, once again, we are in very similar positions, and I have the chance to make her ride a bit easier. I will write this letter to her and I will pass on my wisdom. She must never do what I did; she must never start drawing. Art will heal her, no matter what she deals with in life.

Edited by Viveca Shearin

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