Creative Return

Dear Delyara, I started painting again. Not for money. Not for social media. Not because I am especially good at it. Just because I missed the version of me who made things without needing them to prove anything. For years I only did what was useful. Productive. Efficient. Impressive. I forgot that joy itself is reason enough. The first time I sat down with paint again, I felt rusty and embarrassed. By the second hour, I felt something lighter. By the end, I felt like I had found a room in myself that had been locked for too long. That little room matters. I do not want to lose it again.