Erased The Word 'Mistake' From My Life -- My Dad Changed Everything
I have loved art ever since I was a tiny kid. My dad has always been my absolute biggest supporter. He would buy me all the art supplies, even the really pricey books and pencils and markers.
One day when I was about six years old, we were sketching a fish together. I suddenly realized I didn't have an eraser. I couldn't find one anywhere and I got so upset because I thought my fish was too fat. I really wanted to fix it and make it thin like my dad's fish.
He looked at me and said, "It's alright, Claire, you know what? I bet we can draw all day without an eraser."
I looked at him totally confused. "What? Then how are we supposed to fix our mistakes?"
He laughed and said, "Mistakes? Mistakes are only mistakes if you make them to be." He looked at my fish outline with so much pride. "For example, I think your fish is beautiful."
"You do?" I asked him.
"Of course!" he said. "Fish come in all shapes and sizes, just as humans do, and each one is special. If our fish looked the exact same, neither of them would be special now, would they?"
I thought about that for a bit and decided he was totally right. So I kept working on my fat fish.
And just like that, at the age of six, I created a beautiful fish masterpiece. There was not a single "mistake" to be found.
My dad taught me to be original and unique. He showed me how to turn a negative into a positive, how to expand my creativity, and that there truly is no such thing as a mistake.
❤️
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What a wonderful story.
If you’re interested, here are the writer's drawings at age 13.
#LifeLessons #ArtLovers #ChildhoodMemories #Creativity #NoMistakes #FamilyStories #Fatherhood #Family
