Hello, can you hear me?

title taken from Adele's new single, "Hello"

A friend just told me about Mark Manson (specifically this and this article). I really enjoyed them both. And it made me think about what my passion is. Truth is, I don't really know. What I do know is that two days I really wanted to do something creative. More specifically, I wanted to create a font. Ever since I got my drawing tablet and found a website that lets you create your own font, I have had a bit of a thing for typography.

On the letters that I send out every week, I like to try and make the envelope a little more interesting than just a name, address, and stamp. This usually results in me putting a lot of effort into writing out their name (and then realizing I didn't leave a lot of room for the address, and therefore have to write it really tiny, but that's not the point). The past couple of letters I've done a geometric type font, and I was fond of it. I decided that I wanted to make the whole font.

When I actually went about creating this font, I realized that I didn't have my sketchbooks with me. I own 5, and I hadn't brought a single one with me to Stratford. Neither did I have my drawing pencils, nor my paints. Anything, really. (I do have some markers and colouring pencils with me). The sad part is that I distinctly remember packing for Stratford and thinking I wouldn't want to be creative, that I wouldn't need any of my tools. And that is where I limited myself. It's true that I don't often have the desire to paint or draw or create fonts. But when they do come around, it really sucks when you don't have the tools to do so.

I got my drawing tablet out (ok, so apparently I do have creative tools with me, just not the right ones) and tried drawing some letters straight into my computer. It didn't go to well. There were two reasons for that: 1) I used Illustrator, which I've only used a handful of times and am not completely aware of how to use properly and 2) it's hard to create a font when you've never done it before. I looked at some articles online about typography and creating fonts, which were enlightening.

But what I really wanted was my sketchbook and a pencil and eraser. Because that was how I wanted to be creative. "Being creative" is such a vague term and I'm lucky that I have so many different ways that I can be creative. Just not the right way, apparently.

After my disappointing first failed attempt at creating a font, I made some origami lotus flowers like the ones in an episode of Sherlock. It took me multiple tries to get it right. I could get all of the folds, but the last step is to invert the petals so they stand up, and it's a lot harder than Sherlock makes it out to me. My main issue is that the paper would rip because it was so thin. I eventually used some tape to reinforce the spot where it always tended to rip, despite the fact that I despise using tape, glue, or scissors in origami. Hopefully one day I can make one without the tape (and no rips).

I've been thinking recently about my term abroad. I am definitely going to blog while I'm away, and it will probably be the main way I tell people in general how I'm doing and what I'm up to. But I can't decide if I want to use this blog or create a new one. If I create a new one, well, I'd have two blogs. And I don't like the idea of having two blogs. It's like one person having two cars. Why do you need two? You can only drive one at a time. It doesn't make sense.

On the other hand, if I use this one, then I run into a bit of a situation. I want more people than the people who know about this blog to be able to hear about my adventures in England. But do I want those people to be able to read everything I've written here over the past 4 years? Because if they're anything like me, I know that they'd go through and read every single post. And I'm pretty sure I don't want that. Also, I'm pretty sure some people (really, just one person that I am thinking of) would get mad at me that I hadn't told them I had a blog.

Fortunately, I have 3 months to think about this. But I don't think the way I stand on either side is going to change over that time, and thus it really isn't that fortunate at all.

(I don't want to toot my own horn here or anything, and I know I've said this before, but I am proud of my writing skills. And I know that sometimes the way sentences sound in my head doesn't always make it to the keyboard, but I could probably be a writer for something. Like a blog that has a purpose, DIY Central or Recipes From Home, not just a personal blog. I think I have a good mastery of the English language, and know how to make it sound good. And using big words is fun. Although I have a tendency to overuse commas. I love 'em :) That's all I have to say).

366. What is your superpower of choice?
Those of Elastigirl, from the Incredibles.