Consider this : take every trip that you can (and write your mother)
Emma –
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Nobody’s smart enough to give advice in list form. But we can’t help ourselves.
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Trust yourself.
And be worthy of your trust.
You may be surprised to find out that others think in similar patterns to the way that you think. You may be less surprised to find out that others don’t think in similar patterns to the way that you think. Think anyway, and let others do what they will. And the you that knows, trust it. And the you that wonders if you are worthy of your own trust, calm it by taking the time and moment to note the many ways that you are worthy. And then be worthy.
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Seek and create community.
Always. Never forget that you play a key role in the formation of any type of community that you join. When you are sitting around waiting for an invitation to do amazing things and grand adventures, and the calls and texts don’t come in a timely manner – this is your cue that you need to be the one sending the texts and making the calls – it’s your turn to gather.
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We all have our poverties. Learn to recognize yours, and learn to understand this about every single person you meet.
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Don’t wait for permission. You are your own permission.
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Keep playing your music while you pursue your art. You’re the only one who knows your limits.
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Sometimes, when you run out of clean underwear, it’s a better tactic to go buy some than to do laundry.
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Take every trip that you can.
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Self-abuse is not a prerequisite for making art.
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Sometimes drunkenness can help you see your design work in a different light. Most of the time it just makes you useless and silly and silly you shouldn’t go anywhere near your design work at that point.
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Sometimes you can take a tip from Sue Sylvester.
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I forgot. This is the most important thing of all: Play. In all that you do: Play.
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That’s all. Trust yourself. Be worthy of your trust. And play with all your heart with all the tools life has given you.
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And write your mother.
-Kathryn Ruth Schuth
And that is why I love Kathryn Ruth Schuth, a woman I didn't know but who invited me to come to South Bend, Indiana, to read from Life is a Verb in a monsoon at an art space. I'm so glad I said yes.
And I love that last line of hers. It rings really true to me. Smile.
I am gathering wisdom from the far corners of the earth to give my older daughter, Emma, as she graduates from high school. What would you say to her? Or to your own 17-year-old self? What thoughts would you ask her to consider? You can submit your advice (instructions here) and 37 of those will be posted over the next 37 days, one each day, culminating in a free e-book of all the submissions (whether posted during these 37 days or not) after her graduation on June 14th…. and possibly in a print book as well.
