Constantly battling with my inherent self esteem issues, the pressure to create vs the pressure to refine. My most recent advances in this challenge have been in the creation & refinement of a loose draft system, where in I let the phase of creation serve as first draft, publish it, then let it alone until I can look back to the draft with fresh eyes, and more objective judgement. From there I decide if I’ll refine the piece or not, chiseling it down, trimming the fat, distilling the sentiments, publish it. Then again for a third draft, which is likely the draft to be published on my most public outlets, namely my Instagram, and the front page of this sight.

This draft system is an attempt to sidestep the obstacle of my self esteem, progressing forward with creation, especially in it’s initial stages, and publication of that creation by tricking myself into believing it’s a draft rather than a final piece. From there the pressure of perfectionism is loosened enough to birth whatever idea is incubating and give it some form, so it can be revisited later to be refined, or left. But either way, at least it will have been been born in some capacity.