Art & Character Development

Whenever we find ourselves being stretched and go beyond our comfort zone, we may find it not only uncomfortable, but actually painful. My first reaction is usually to run away and hide. Recently in my sculpture class at college, I was assigned my first project--to create a sculpture out of wood and to make an orthographic drawing of it first. Then our drawing and the entire project would be turned over to someone else. We don't get to create our own project. And so starts the stretching. Using power tools for the first time is daunting enough, but to make an architectural drawing that involves math and then do someone else's project other than my own was enough to freak me out. I am actually math phobic and anytime you attach math to an art project, it is automatically ruined for me! Suddenly I have been turned into a carpenter which is not a role I feel comfortable in or have any experience in. I don't even know what type of wood to get and what sizes they come in! Now the stretching has turned into a panic attack and I'm even thinking about dropping the class. But I didn't. Instead, I worked through the problem with my teacher, who was very patient and helpful, and we came to a solution.

This whole experience was a lesson in character development for me. The development of our character and learning to face our fears can be a really hard and painful process. What I gained by not dropping out and giving up was more than just newly-acquired skills & knowledge in architectural drawing and carpentry. I learned a lesson in perserverance, endurance and courage. Running away from our fears just makes it easier to do the same thing again, but when you face your fears, something inside you goes from coward to champion and you have taken one more step on the long ladder of character growth.