my family brags about me

It's finals week for students of Travelin' Oma's School Days seminar.

She gave us 5 essay questions and told us to pick two. These are the two I chose:
2. If one of your relatives were to brag about you, what would they say?
3. What praise or acknowledgement have you gotten from relatives that is meaningful to you?

2. If one of my relatives were to brag about me it's likely they would brag about my art. I am not the only artistic person in my extended family, but they appreciate all of us artsy folk.
After I graduated high school I took a three month trip to Costa Rica to visit relatives who live there. I packed a suitcase full of art supplies (we're talking a large suitcase full of paints, brushes, blank canvas, the works. And I bought more canvas while I was there.) Whenever I didn't have anything to do, or was trying to entertain my 8-year-old sister who'd come with me, I'd pull out the paints. One of the pieces I did was an ode to Costa Rica. I had some post cards with pictures of different animals and natural landmarks. I picked a few of my favorites and made a collage painting showcasing the things I had picked. Being a perfectionist, I noticed things that looked a little weird, (proportions that were off, colors that weren't quite right,) but when I showed it to my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents they all thought it was incredible. They would definitely brag about me.

3. Whenever any relative acknowledges, and most especially when they praise, my artistic efforts I am thrilled. Again, I am a perfectionist, and am generally never 100% satisfied with my work. But my relatives can see past the imperfections, or maybe they don't see them at all (because I made them up.) As with the painting I described above, I didn't think it was perfect, but I got loads of compliments on it. Some of my young cousins noticed my abilities and asked that I make drawings and paintings for them. Even my sisters have made me feel absolutely wonderful about some of my artwork. We're all pretty nice to each other, but none of my sisters is ever as nice to me as when they're admiring and complimenting me on a drawing or painting they liked. It makes me feel nice.



{If I get enough requests I'll post a picture of the Costa Rica painting. And by enough requests I mean....5. Just comment if you want to see it.}