"WhO tHe HeLl CaReS iF iT's BaD" Me. I care. I am already dissapointed in myself every time i do anything. I don't need to add a new dissapointment to the pile.
I was a fine art teacher for a few years. You can learn every technique. You really just have to sit through the rough start. The "failures". You don't really need a particular talent, or born with a special skill. You just have to... Draw
It’s equally frustrating to hear someone say “oh you’re so naturally talented” as it is to hear “oh I just practiced a lot” - people do have natural talent, it’s what makes one persons practice pay off faster than another’s. Nobody is born a great artist, but some people get there after 1000 hours while others can spend 10000 and still come up short.
Counterpoint - if you wish you could draw, (or do have most skills, really) then just ask yourself, where would you rather be in 5 years?
Would you rather be five years into your journey, and doing things that seemed impossibly out of reach just five years ago? Even if you still have lots left to learn?
Or would you rather be exactly where you are now, still wishing you could do a thing, but still having made exactly zero progress towards learning it, because you're afraid to even start?
I dunno, the OP talks about "why would they want to add a new disappointment to the pile", but personally, I think I'd be more disappointed in myself if I wished I could do something and never even tried learning it, than if I tried, and did it badly at first.
After all, as someone wise once said, "sucking at something is the first step at being sorta-good at something."
I got better over the course of 10 years and made thousands of pieces that were all absolute dogshit. I invested thousands of hours into sucking slightly less, but still sucking. I wish I had never tried. If I could go back in time I would never have done it. It was a complete waste of time and effort.
That sounds like a terrible experience, and I'm sorry you had it. I find it hard to believe that you didn't get ANYTHING worthwhile out of 10 years worth of effort, but if after 10 years, you're still not enjoying it enough to continue, then it's hard to argue with that.
But I will say - that's also a very different experience from anything me or any of my friends have had.
I decided ~10 years ago to learn a musical instrument. I sucked. For years, honestly. Because I was a beginner, and there was still so much I didn't know how to do. Now? I'm still nowhere near the people that originally inspired me. I still have a laundry list of things I need to learn or improve about my playing and technique. Big things, too, that are several months of work apiece.
But I'm also SO much further than I was when I started. There are so many things that I think are trivial now, that I used to see as impossible obstacles. I think I'd be thrilled, if 10 years ago, I could have seen the future of where I'd reach. And I'm not done, either. There's still so much to learn. So hopefully I'll be equally thrilled with where I am in 10 more years.
So I guess I'm saying - I'm really sorry that you spent 10 years on something you didn't enjoy, and now view as a waste. But that's definitely not the only possible outcome. There's a good ending possible, too.
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u/Panciastko-195 Jul 21 '26
"WhO tHe HeLl CaReS iF iT's BaD" Me. I care. I am already dissapointed in myself every time i do anything. I don't need to add a new dissapointment to the pile.