For the longest time, I’ve always considered myself to be optimistic. There was never a turning point in my life where I was like, “I’m going to strive to be an optimistic person!” It was just a course of action that I took on naturally, and this repetitive action also helped me become stronger both emotionally and mentally. For every low point in my life, I was able to convince myself that something good would be on its way and that nothing lasts forever. Besides being pessimistic did nothing for my depression.
I also have a nasty habit of over-thinking. Am I worth anything? Do people want me around? Do I even know what I’m doing? Being optimistic helped me battle my insecurities and doubts. It helps me think more logically to the point where I’m able to get back on my own two feet and move forward. Even in doubt, I think positively because it’s easy for me to succumb to such negativity. So that’s why I always try to live on the brighter side of life and try to see the value and beauty of everything. People tend to see me as either naive or an idiot because of it, but I’d rather be seen as an idiot opposed to a depressed adult any day.
Something that I have been telling myself since I was teen was, “It’s hard now but it’ll get better one day. Just trust me. Stay strong a little longer.”
Nothing lasts forever, and there’s always some good fortune coming your way if you allow it in your life.
I battled with plenty of ideas for this illustration. I couldn’t seem to find a proper way to depict optimism without it sounding like I was reaching. I still feel like I’m reaching with this one, but it’s a lot better and way less cringy compared to the previous ideas.
This illustration was based on the concept of “sticking your head through the clouds”, like seeing the bright side of the clouds when there was once rain. That’s why one half of the image has these cool green and blue tones to depict times of sadness and feeling down. The character is also wearing sweats because during those down times you’re not too concerned with how you look so you just slap on the closet sweatpants you can find. The hair also falls straight down to contrast the lively nature of the hair above. Above the hair is dancing in the wind, it’s lively and free. The character is also wearing lighter clothing and has a bright expression. In between these two halves are some white lines I used to represent as clouds and the transition between the two. I didn’t want to draw puffy clouds because I felt it would take away from the overall image.
In short, the bottom half is to represent the low times in your life where nothing seems to be going right and everything just sucks. And as you travel up in the image and break through the cloud barrier it depicts a freer and joyful outlook because you’re finally looking on the brighter side, in a way you can see it as two ways to live your life.
That is all for now, until next time!