Soberversary
Why the heck is Emilia talking about a soberversary? Well, it so happens that I celebrated my 2nd year of sobriety on Friday, August 12th, 2022. I never thought I’d be sharing this. I thought it would just be something I’d continue to suppress and shove into an “I’ll never open this” box. It’s important as it marks a huge step in my journey as an artist, the beginning.
It started with a ceaseless yearning I felt to find a new sense of normalcy for myself. I lost my way and began to dig for pastimes that I had once enjoyed. I was seeking something that would nourish my mind the most and a little light bulb icon emerged. Since I was a young child, making art was my favorite thing to do. It didn’t matter if it was coloring with crayons, painting by numbers, or molding clay into shapes. I would always rush to choose art as an elective in school each year. It was a no-brainer decision.
So, here I am. I’m a recovering drug addict and will always be in recovery. It’s part of me and it’s the reason I decided to derail my former plan of becoming a doctor (deep down, I knew I wasn’t pursuing that for the right reasons anyway) and start my artist life. I won’t get into the ugly details but, if you’re interested in that, follow me on YouTube. I’ll be filming a more in-depth account of my story, how I recovered, and the things I discovered about myself in counseling (you can find all of my social links at the header & footer of each page).
I can say with an utmost certainty that it’s changed me down to my core. It could all become a book someday. For now, my mission is to share my story and maybe help people on their own recovery journeys who are in search for a creative outlet of their own. I’d like to inspire them to find a new happy place as I have done for myself. As the artist Lizzo says, “It’s about damn time” that I crawled out of my shell and showed the world it’s possible to recover and turn their life around.
To summarize, this 2nd soberversary brought me to the realization that it was time for me to devote myself to both of my passions, creating art and speaking about an extremely difficult feat that I overcame (probably the biggest struggle I’ll ever face). I’m living proof that crawling out of a deep, dark hole is doable especially with the nudge painting can give you. I used my brushes and canvas to wash the mud off and shine (I’ve always enjoyed coming up with my own silly metaphors :D ).
Do you know anyone that you think would take interest in using art to help them on their recovery journey? Maybe you can suggest it to them.
Disclaimer: I am not an art therapist and not licensed to give any advice other than to share my own experiences and help people by showing them they aren’t alone. I only seek to be an example that it’s possible to turn their life around using art.