Molly Wanders @mollywanders - Tumblr Blog

New and Improved Mississippi State Flag Sticker

by Molly Wanders

It makes me sad that it took until 2020 and the threat of losing college football privileges to make Mississippi change its racist flag. I’m glad it finally happened, though. Here’s to one good thing to come out of 2020 🎉🥂🎉

#stickers #mississippi #new state flag #ms state flag #ms #2020 #good news #2020 is trash #2020 is a fever dream #2020 is a year #2020 is cursed #good things #2020 news #Mississippi state flag #new Mississippi flag #2020 dumpster fire #happy 2020

Mountain Cabin Sticker by Molly Wanders

And we’ll all float on okay

Float On Koi Fish Sticker by Molly Wanders

catchymemes

mollywanders

This was me from Fall 2019 to about the middle of Fall 2020. So I was in this limbo period for a LONG TIME, but it did end.

Now, I’ve started a sticker shop, and I take time to work on it every day. Working on it does not seem like a chore, and it does not feel tiring anymore. I’m literally OBSESSED, and sometimes I have to make myself stop working on my sticker shop to go do other healthy things like socialize.

My sticker hobby has become one of the joys of my life, but back in that period from Fall 2019-Fall 2020, I was in a really dark period where I couldn’t see the light. I knew I didn’t like what I was doing, but I couldn’t get myself out of it. I didn’t have much hope I’d ever get any better. I thought my life was just doomed to suck forever and that I was just doomed to never get anything done forever.

I guess I’m just sharing this to give hope to anyone who might currently be stuck in this cycle. One of my professors pulled me aside one day and told me, “this too shall pass,” and I often thought of that phrase to help me stop dwelling on my dissatisfaction with the present. Life comes in cycles, good and bad, and they come and go regularly. So if you’re in a bad phase, just hold on. It will get better. It might take a long time like mine did, but it passed, and now I’m in a good phase that will hopefully last just as long.

I would encourage anyone in this phase to find a way to be creative that has zero pressure for them and feels fun. For me, it was drawing. I don’t consider myself to be an artist, so I was okay if my doodles sucked. When some of my doodles didn’t suck, it felt super rewarding, but I never feel upset when I draw something lame, either.

Before I started drawing regularly, I put most of my creative energy into writing. However, this was not a zero pressure hobby for me. I have big expectations for my writing, so I put way too much pressure on myself to write, and writing often felt like a chore that I had to force myself to do. Back when I was in my limbo period, the hobby I was too exhausted to do was writing. I think one of the keys that helped me move out of my limbo was focusing on a different creative endeavor for a period of time, drawing, because writing just wasn’t working out for me.

That’s not to say I put ALL of my effort into drawing, and I never write anymore. I write whenever I feel like it, which is more often now. Eventually, I think I’ll be writing more than I draw. However, I’m not putting any pressure on myself to draw or write, and I think that’s key for me to flourish. Without the pressure, I’m finding that I want to write and draw, and that I do it way more than I would back when I did pressure myself.

I hope my story helped someone. Here is a sticker that I made a while back that I think is relevant to the situation:

I’m Rooting for You Sticker by Molly Wanders

(Those are links to my sticker shop btw)

Just know that if you’re in this period, you’re not alone. I’ve been through this period MANY times, and I know dozens of friends who have, and I’m sure there’s thousands if not millions of others who I haven’t met who have also been through this period. If anything, this period is a normal phase that all creatives go through.

I’m rooting for you, though, and I know that your phase will pass just like mine did.

If you can relate to some of what I said, or if you’re going through your own limbo period, please share. I’d love to hear your experiences and start a thread of support.

#limbo #unmotivated #support #i’m rooting for you #help #exhausted #stuck