Mother's Day Present

The assignment was to choose artists, like Monet, Van Gogh, Manet, etc., and paint a cropped section of four of their paintings. Then in the middle we were supposed to paint a portrait of a family member or more. The reason why I painted the men proportionally smaller than the women was because they represent how small a part my father played in my life; he left us for a new family. I had actually painted my dad on the left, but it didn't go with the whole painting, but you can still see a bit of him under the paint. I guess that adds more weight to the content. It's still not finished to me, so I'll touch up when I get it graded.

My mom doesn't know that I painted her, so this'll be a surprise for her on Mother's Day. Hope my mom likes it!

19

I'm sure when I was 9, I had a writing assignment in elementary with the prompt asking what do you see yourself doing 10 years from now. I wonder what I wrote down: maybe I said I was going to be a straight A college student, working on my career to be a computer technician, if not a fireman; or maybe I predicted that I'd have a girlfriend that I'd marry later in life and have a family with her while I do my job as a fireman (or was it an astronaut I wanted to be?). And to think I'd grow up to be all peaches and cream.

But I didn't have the slightest clue back then, and that hasn't changed. I didn't know I would get arrested during middle school; I didn't know that my dad would leave my family; I didn't know that I was going to ever touch drugs; I didn't know I was going to be gay (and a not so fabulous one, for that matter). I still don't know what I'll be like or do 10 years from now, even with all practicalities of a career considered.

At 19, I don't have to know or worry where I'll end up 10 years from now. At 19, I don't have to narrow my choices of what career I need to choose. At 19, I have nothing but time, and it's the (Passion + Ambition) x Work Ethic = Success formula I'll live by to guarantee my future, and this equation has yet to be proven false.

So, cheers to getting - not older, but wiser.

(I actually kinda wish I was a fireman)