Titles

All along, I have always been hesitant to call myself an "artist" because I feel this is a title that must be earned, a sacred badge of honor granted to the fortunate few who can see....something. I have felt I was unworthy of the title, too green or too untried to truly embrace this identity. I started thinking to myself today, on my way from class, where is the line between a "student of art" and an "artist"? When does one finally recognize some sort of professionalism, some sort of solidity in order to define themselves by that term? Perhaps the word alone is only a certain perspective, a way of looking at oneself and one's work. I call myself an artist because this is more of what I am than anything else....but I use the term tentatively...and with respect for what it stands for. For I am still learning. I hope always to be learning. Growing. Pushing myself harder and farther than anyone else could possibly imagine to the greatest possible being, artist, that I can achieve.

Until that moment, through a lifetime of struggles, I call myself an artist as a reminder of what I am working for, a reminder of what I can be, a reminder of what.... I already am.