The story on this page was written by a Cam’s Kids Ambassador. You can learn more about Cam’s Kids here. For anyone struggling with their mental health, you can text the word CAM to 686868 for free, 24-7 confidential mental health support.
Art has been an interest of mine since I was a young girl. I used to doodle all of the time for my mom and I loved to make crafts and cards for different occasions. As I got older it became a great interest in my life.
In elementary school I used to always go to the paint section when we had our free time because there was nothing I wanted to do more. As I moved up through the years, my skills increased. My grade 6 & 7 teacher was an amazing artist, and he definitely sparked my interest in continuing to use my skills because he made me believe that I was good enough and that I had an amazing gift too. At these points in my life art was a way for me to express myself and just have fun. It wasn’t until high school that I started to use art for much more than just that.
I had another amazing art teacher in the 4 years that I was in highschool, and he allowed me to explore so many different and unique techniques so that I could find what really spoke to me, and find out what I was capable of creating. These years of highschool are where I really progressed with my skills and really appreciated what art means and what it can do for some people. During our classes he played music because he wanted it to feel calming and like it was more of our choice to be there, rather than it feel forced and stressful. The music and the atmosphere that he created for the class was very welcoming where you could make mistakes and all he wanted to see was growth; it was not as much about what grade you had in the class. I used to go sit in the class during our lunch period and just work on random pieces because it was a nice escape from the stresses of the school day. When the music would play and you just worked away on whatever it was you were doing, you didn’t have to think. For me, it felt so natural and time would fly by in the class because I would just get lost in the music and what I was doing and I didn’t care about anything else.
So art for me is so much more than just drawing or painting on a canvas. It is a way for me to escape for a little while from the stressors in my life, the anxiousness I may be feeling, or really any emotion that is bringing me down. Art lifts me up and it is another form of communication for how I am feeling. It can be used instead of journaling or writing a song. Art can bring up a person’s self esteem, it can teach valuable lessons such as not everything has to be perfect and every piece is unique, just like every person is unique. Art can soothe so many emotions, it can be a beautiful sight, it can be a reminder of your worth, it can be so many things. I do not think that I would have been able to write this without all of the amazing experiences I had throughout my life, along with all of the amazing mentors I was able to learn from. Art has always been and always will be very special to me and I hope that this message can help someone else realize what it could do for them.
The personal stories and advice shared on this page are not meant to be used as medical advice. If you’re feeling worried or unsure about your mental health, it’s important to talk to a trusted adult or a healthcare professional. For free, 24/7, confidential and multilingual e-mental health support services you can contact Kids Help Phone.
