"I did not get sidetracked" and other lies
Hourly comic day, ADHD, permission to fib
I mentioned back in November that I was embarking on the awful but necessary therapist-courting-ritual to find someone that I could work with on an ongoing basis. I'm thrilled to say the slog was worth it, and I've found a therapist who has been thoughtful, insightful, and understanding.
She was also quick to identify that just about everything about my brain is on par with someone who has ADHD.
I've been putting off an official assessment in favor of what I feel to be more pressing matters, but even the suggestion that all the things I hate about myself aren't completely my fault has brought a level of healing. All this time, I'd thought I was broken. I feel like I've been given permission to view myself under a more compassionate and understanding lens.
Maybe that's why this week's SAW Friday Night Comic workshop was extra fun for me.
It was called “Living Your Best Lie” and hosted by the prolific autobio comic artist November Garcia. She encouraged us to not be afraid to embellish the facts, stretch the truth, or outright change the story.
In therapy, I've been working on the self-criticism that often happens when I have trouble making myself do something I feel like I need to do, but really don't want to. Case in point – a few weeks ago, on February 1st, it was Hourly Comic Day1, something I really wanted to participate in this year. I even put it in my calendar to remind myself. Well, I did do it – I kept track of my whole day in my Notes app. I was excited to sit down the next day and sketch out my goings-on. But...I couldn't. Every time I tried to make myself draw it out, I just found the idea so very boring. Drawing myself eating cereal for breakfast? Folding laundry? Answering emails? Oy.
It remained on my to-do list for weeks.
When Garcia suggested this brilliant tactic for getting through creative blocks, it helped me realize two things:
One, I'm not a failure for not properly completing hourly comic day, even though I really wanted to.
Two, I can say whatever I want! I can say I did the complete opposite of what I actually did. I can make it all up.
I combined November’s exercise with my hourly comic day task, and the comic below was born.
One last thing
I had 5 artworks included in issue 37 of Breakwater Review, which published this month. It's a beautiful art and literary journal, and I’m thrilled to be their featured artist for this issue.
From Google: “Hourly Comics Day takes place on the 1st of February every year. You do one comic for every hour of your day from the time you wake up til the time you go to bed.” It’s an entirely informal, just-for-fun thing in the comics community.