Beautiful story. I was told by choir directors from Jr. High up till Jr. College that I couldn't sing and would never learn. I kept on signing up for choir, no matter what they told me, because I liked to sing.
I feel good about the fact that they were wrong to this day. They were the stupid ones, because I wasn't an alto and I could sing. I went on to sing the Mother Superior role in a Sound of Music production and learned to sing opera!
I think I likely got my persistence from my mother and the circumstances I grew up with. She got through life, being undiagnosed bipolar, for years by just plunging ahead. She kept seeking help for years, and it took a ridiculous amount of time to finally get the right diagnosis.
I'm an only child, my mother was an only child, and my grandfather was also bipolar. There were few adults around capable of helping me cope, so I learned to be resilient. There wasn't much other choice.
They say one becomes resistant if the experience dosen't kill. I think it was my shrink who pointed that out. It's nice to be resilient, but in my experience, there are some legacy downsides to those childhood experiences.
Yes, I definitely have trauma, and the downsides for me have been a lack of trust. The adults around me let me down because everyone was trying to cope and, due to a lack of help, was not succeeding. I have low self-esteem, but it's gotten better, and I avoid conflict or withdraw.
God bless your mom for being kind. This makes me want to sock your pop!
I used to think I was stupid at math because my first-grade teacher got mad at me when I couldn't figure out how to count change. That feeling stayed with me until my first year of college, when I took a remedial Calculus class and amazingly got an A. I realized I needed a teacher who went slower and explained things better, and that I wasn't stupid in math at all.
So it goes, Doreen. I still suffer with basic math, but got As in Algebra. And now that you mention it, remember getting shammed for not knowing how to count change.
You went to your friend next door. I didn't have to go that far. The siblings in my family made a tight community. We didn't get along all the time, but we did most of the time. We knew we had each other's backs when it mattered. Stories of orphans and adoptions fascinated me. Horacio Alger, Dickens, and Robert Lewis Stevenson are hardly reliable source material. But the horrifying concept of being on your own as a kid trying to navigate a world of adults made me want to prepare for the worst. Even though, given the size of my clan, the worst would need to be biblical. I see how you found your way through as a marvel.
Thanks, Mark. Marvel? I think now that the imprint of childhood is a marvel in how it shapes all of us. Maybe Freelance Fandango was a natural for you because of the social experience of your big family.
Thanks, Tom. By the way, the photo reference for my sketch this time was created in Gemini. I dropped in five photos of me at age 8 or 9 and described the scene I wanted.
interesting! it’s very close to … but not exactly … your style. You must have found it acceptable? I often recoil from the obviously AI created images people use, but not so here.
I drew the image you see on the post. I used the Gemini-created image as my reference. I’ve always used photo reference for my sketches. AI just makes it easier to get my reference material precisely the way I want it.
Ah, good for you: I like that approach. I’ll share it with my artist wife, who will often say that devising a composition is one of the hardest parts, especially when she has neither a real life or a photographic reference.
Beautiful story. I was told by choir directors from Jr. High up till Jr. College that I couldn't sing and would never learn. I kept on signing up for choir, no matter what they told me, because I liked to sing.
I feel good about the fact that they were wrong to this day. They were the stupid ones, because I wasn't an alto and I could sing. I went on to sing the Mother Superior role in a Sound of Music production and learned to sing opera!
Wow, Kris! That's hanging in there for sure. Thanks for sharing. Clearly, you don't give up easily. Where do you suppose you got your resilience?
I think I likely got my persistence from my mother and the circumstances I grew up with. She got through life, being undiagnosed bipolar, for years by just plunging ahead. She kept seeking help for years, and it took a ridiculous amount of time to finally get the right diagnosis.
I'm an only child, my mother was an only child, and my grandfather was also bipolar. There were few adults around capable of helping me cope, so I learned to be resilient. There wasn't much other choice.
They say one becomes resistant if the experience dosen't kill. I think it was my shrink who pointed that out. It's nice to be resilient, but in my experience, there are some legacy downsides to those childhood experiences.
Yes, I definitely have trauma, and the downsides for me have been a lack of trust. The adults around me let me down because everyone was trying to cope and, due to a lack of help, was not succeeding. I have low self-esteem, but it's gotten better, and I avoid conflict or withdraw.
God bless your mom for being kind. This makes me want to sock your pop!
I used to think I was stupid at math because my first-grade teacher got mad at me when I couldn't figure out how to count change. That feeling stayed with me until my first year of college, when I took a remedial Calculus class and amazingly got an A. I realized I needed a teacher who went slower and explained things better, and that I wasn't stupid in math at all.
So it goes, Doreen. I still suffer with basic math, but got As in Algebra. And now that you mention it, remember getting shammed for not knowing how to count change.
You went to your friend next door. I didn't have to go that far. The siblings in my family made a tight community. We didn't get along all the time, but we did most of the time. We knew we had each other's backs when it mattered. Stories of orphans and adoptions fascinated me. Horacio Alger, Dickens, and Robert Lewis Stevenson are hardly reliable source material. But the horrifying concept of being on your own as a kid trying to navigate a world of adults made me want to prepare for the worst. Even though, given the size of my clan, the worst would need to be biblical. I see how you found your way through as a marvel.
Thanks, Mark. Marvel? I think now that the imprint of childhood is a marvel in how it shapes all of us. Maybe Freelance Fandango was a natural for you because of the social experience of your big family.
Great one Ted
Thanks, Tom. By the way, the photo reference for my sketch this time was created in Gemini. I dropped in five photos of me at age 8 or 9 and described the scene I wanted.
interesting! it’s very close to … but not exactly … your style. You must have found it acceptable? I often recoil from the obviously AI created images people use, but not so here.
I drew the image you see on the post. I used the Gemini-created image as my reference. I’ve always used photo reference for my sketches. AI just makes it easier to get my reference material precisely the way I want it.
Ah, good for you: I like that approach. I’ll share it with my artist wife, who will often say that devising a composition is one of the hardest parts, especially when she has neither a real life or a photographic reference.