...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST SUNDAY...
* WHAT...Southwest winds to 30 kt and significant waves to 5 ft.
* WHERE...Portions of Lake Michigan.
* WHEN...Until 9 AM CST Sunday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Life editor Taylor Leddin-McMaster, at age 6, enjoys two of her favorite activities, writing and eating blueberry muffins.
For years, I’ve been in a rocky relationship with my soulmate.
I don’t mean my husband, we’re on good terms; but I mean something he and I both love dearly.
My relationship with creativity has been one of ebb and flow. The love and the appreciation is constant, but the execution is sporadic.
There was a good deal of time in my early 20s when I was hardly doing anything creative. I was so focused on “the future” and “following a path” that I neglected the present. This was a difference from growing up when I’d spend time making collages with magazine clippings — either on paper or on my tennis shoes. I was always drawing, writing or doing some sort of craft. Michael’s was my second home.
As I got older, ideas would continue to spark, and sometimes I’d test them out, but, usually, it was an idea that remained in the periphery of my brain or on one of my many Pinterest boards.
When I moved to Kankakee County, my appreciation for creativity was amplified. I don’t know if there’s something in the water here, but the amount of creatively talented individuals is astonishing. There’s traditional artists, a plethora of musicians and writers, and many creative people in between.
Building relationships with some of these people, either socially or professionally, has allowed for more conversations about creativity and passion.
This didn’t fix my rocky relationship overnight, it still took a while for me to get over the hump of my “fear” of creativity.
Whenever I have a new idea, the initial excitement is brought down by: “What if it fails?“ or “What if no one likes it?” or “This has probably already been thought of.”
I’m still not fully over that hump, but being surrounded by encouraging and talented people has made returning to creativity more comfortable.
What really brought me back was joining a book club two years ago. I had been away from another love, reading, for far too long. Jumping into other worlds and having the opportunity to read books I wouldn’t normally pick helped to kickstart my brain.
I’ve been reading much more frequently and have been working on more crafts and projects in my free time.
This got me thinking about a conversation I had years ago with my friend Randy. Randy is the lead singer of a Neil Diamond tribute band, and writes some of his own songs. We were talking about the process of creative writing and I said that it’s difficult to make yourself do it when you’re uninspired. He said that, even then, you just have to do it or you won’t get a final product.
The takeaway that I’ve been reminding myself of is, don’t be afraid to dust the cobwebs off and see what’s been sparking beneath.
Taylor Leddin-McMaster is the Life editor at the Daily Journal and is the editor of Lifestyles of Kankakee County. Her column, “A Taylor-Made Life,” publishes every Saturday in the Life section. She can be contacted by phone 815-937-3369, email tleddin@daily-journal.com or via Twitter @leddinlife.
Taylor Leddin-McMaster is Life editor of the Daily Journal and editor of Lifestyles of Kankakee County. A graduate of Illinois State, she was featured as a prominent journalist by Thrive Global. Email: tleddin@daily-journal.com.
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