Today's Good News

"You are officially my wedding calligrapher! Hahaha"

I almost died.

When I was in elementary school, specifically when I was about 9 years old, I was fascinated by calligraphy. I'd ask my mom's sister to teach me, and I'd also order pens from my aunt in the States. I used to answer exams using my calligraphy pens, and the teachers would laugh at me, but in a good way, of course. Or so I'd hope.

I stopped doing calligraphy in sixth grade, because all that mattered to me was my extra-curriculars, like badminton, the school paper, among other things. That's a different story, though. Throughout high school I dropped everything. Calligraphy was a hobby I had completely left behind the pages of a book I'd never go back to read.

Just recently, I've been into manual typography and lettering. I never really stopped hoarding pens since I was a kid, but the habit just got at least ten times worse in college. I've been posting works on my Instagram, and I've also been following people who share the same hobby as me. Seeing other people's works made me realize how much I missed doing calligraphy, so I gave it another shot. My pens don't have ink cartridges anymore, so I've been working my way with regular felt-tip markers.

When I woke up this morning, I got a message on Facebook from someone asking me if I was interested to do her wedding suites. I almost said no, because I have this unreasonable fear of getting paid to do work (wow, totes not getting rich in the future), because I'd rather either a) just do it for free or b) kill myself if the work is ugly. I had to call my mom because I got scared and she encouraged me to at least give it a try. My mom said she wouldn't ask me to do it if my works were ugly, and that I should be confident about the things I make or do. So, I took it. It's experience, and an opportunity for learning.

You know what's even better? Her wedding theme is rustic, and she's asking me to use white ink for the envelopes. I almost fainted. This is too good to be true. It will take four weeks before she gets to send the envelopes to me, though. Thank God classes won't start until August, because if it weren't for this extra long summer vacation, I wouldn't have rekindled a hobby that was once long forgotten.

Another highlight from today is that @snapperdoodles followed me on Instagram and liked a lot of my works. She also commented on one of my works, and she said my style is what makes my work beautiful.

To be honest, I post a lot of my works online because I want to be more confident about them. Before I press the post button, something in me tingles, and it takes a little less courage every time I press it. So much room for growth and improvement.

I am stoked, and a little bit nervous at the same time. This is something I love doing, and nothing and no one should stop me from believing it is beautiful - not even myself.