Sarah Clarity Studios

The heart of any IP we have is a heart to say “hello.” A heart to say, “here I am!”

If we are lucky or blessed, depending on the context where we are, we are surrounded by an entire community of people who cheer us on, give us hope, make us brave. “Go on, hit submit!”

Other times, we are super lucky to have one person in our lives, in-person or online, where we are mentored with the most love we will ever receive in our lives.

And the time we pray we never have, we swear we’d rather die, is when we have…no one. It happens. It’s everyone’s nightmare, and if we’re lucky, we have never experienced it before. Not yet. Not ever, hopefully. But a lot of us do, and most of us still are smarting from the abyss of no support. No encouragement. No coaching. No “good job.” Just a lot of “why are you wasting your time?” and “you can’t draw for sh*t.” To which we usually reply all sorts of non-repeatable comebacks or even worse, say nothing and cry when we’re alone and away from the abyss. And even if it wasn’t true, it sure felt real. It hurts.

For any new IP that is yours or mine, this is a life-or-death matter. People may ask why it’s so dramatic, and the answer is because? It’s very dramatic. It’s always dramatic. For anything that is just beginning to rear its blind and tender head up above the nest, anything can hurt. Many things do. There are no open eyes yet, no real feathers. A baby bird is a far cry from an adult bird, definitely.

And what is new is vulnerable. Vulnerable to attacks, to deprivation, to starvation, to sickness, to death. Let’s not think of how many IPs we saw fade into bleak nothingness of good friends, our family, our classmates, even sometimes, the confessions from our teachers. When we look at someone trying, sometimes we look and know, “there’s no way it’s going to make it. Even though they love it right now.”

For you, I have one word: Triage.

If you can triage the damage that has been done to your IP, whether it’s hurt pride or feeling utterly destroyed or unloved, you still have a good chance to bring it back to full health, and to see that little guy fly. Maybe work isn’t the best place to talk about it…or…maybe it is. It depends on where you’re at, who you’re with, what you’ve been struggling with.

Don’t expect 10 therapy sessions with your best friend. Maybe just one and a half. You might not need the 2-sentence, “hey, feel better. Good luck!” Maybe you need the serial email saga from your other best friend that’s like 9-parts – now 10! – telling you how awesome you are and how no one can understand your genius. And if the boss hollers at you to remember lunch, and you nearly jump out of your skin? Look at that – you’re back to normal! And your IP is happy, because you’ve gotten your edge back.

There are ten million ways for your IP to die, but there are just as many ways — perhaps ten million and one ways for your IP to be brought back from the graveyard…alive!!!

Say “hello” to the world again. WIth your IP. When you’re ready.

If you are in a hostile environment at work, home, or school, then obviously, keep it close to you, and forgo the announcing for this season.

But if you are in a quiet place alone, let the IP flutter its wings and get used to your nest. You can open your sketchbook now. You can jot down that idea now, in your notebook or journal.

Some of the most poignant and powerful lines I have ever gotten for my current IP have come from some of the hardest moments of my life. I remember I cried when the fully formed phrases rose to my mind, and I scrambled to grab a tissue while writing them down in a place I knew no one would look in my journal, tucked underneath 9 others at my desk in the middle of the evening.

In your struggle, remember to fight. Put it on the napkin and tuck it into your pocket. Write it on the memo pad. Draw it in the bathroom if you have to. The idea is “Never give up.” It’s, “Okay, I’m drawing now.” It’s, “I’m typing this up in my Notes App.” You will never get to “hello world” unless you keep your IP close.

“Should I post or should I wait?” is a common question.

If you are under a lot of tension or pressure, and you know for certain that you will get more positive feedback from people all over the world online, then post. It will do you so much good. You know the forums you want to be on. You know the social media platforms that you’ll agree on. Post. Do it as soon as you can.

If you have a sinking feeling that you posting online is going to make the bullying 10,000 times worse, then don’t post. Draw in your sketchbook. Write in your journal. Do all of these things for you under duress until you’re out of middle school or high school. Until college becomes bearable again. There are times when I have completely locked myself out of my social media accounts, and I was happier for it. With better mental health too.

So, without giving you the proverbial “you do you” spiel, I’ll just say, “You know best.” If you feel tons of anxiety from your social media accounts, please do not add to your anxiety. If you feel very isolated and you know you need to fish out your passwords to your social media accounts, then you know what to do. Get talking. Get connecting. Breathe again.

How long can an IP survive undercover? My gosh. Like…10-20 years? Maybe pushing 30 – 40 years? Your IP is genius at surviving the worst of circumstances, so don’t worry about your IP. Worry about you. You, the artist. You, the writer. You the bullet journaler (journalist!).

It is not for no reason that your IP is yours, and that you struggle the way you do. Everyone struggles. Everyone. Me too. It’s why we’re here, thinking of ways to feel better, to draw better, write better, bullet journal better.

It is of very little matter to me, whether you are famous or not, or whether you will be largely more famous sometime down the road. Let me tell ya – your IP? Doesn’t care how famous you are right now or how famous you will be. Your IP cares that you are the creator, the mastermind, the prodigy. To your IP, there is no one cooler than you, more awesome than you, more amazing than you. In the world, according to your IP, you are you, and you are all it needs.

Our minds may say otherwise, our doubting hearts the same, but the IP knows best, and it says, “I’m yours.”

Keep that in mind as you train yourself once more to be in tune with what your IP requires, not what others desire.

Whether it takes you 40 minutes or 40 years, sit down. Remember how much you love your IP and get to it. You don’t have to say “hello” today, but consider that, one day? You will.

Love,

Sarah