This week, I reached a life milestone: 10,000 Subscribers on YouTube! To say I was excited is a major, major understatement. But if there's one rule every artist learns is that with great exposure comes great trolling.
So, on this occasion, I wanted to share a story from a little over a year ago I think holds true now more than ever. If you'd like to hear the original, I've got it here:
When I was younger—in kindergarten, middle school, and high school—I was teased relentlessly. I was bullied for everything about me: being “too fat,” wearing glasses, having acne and braces, smelling funny, looking like a boy, not having a boyfriend, being “too smart,” being “too dumb,” being “too nice,” and even for my art.
Some clients even criticized me, saying, “You think you’re good, but we really know the truth—you’re not.”
That experience taught me something harsh but invaluable: no matter what I do, someone will find a reason to criticize me. As a kid, my only solution to avoid bullying was to hide. I wore bland clothes, sat in the back of the room, stayed quiet, and tried my best to go unnoticed. And while that made me feel safer, it didn’t make me happy.
I would watch other kids who I admired. They stood out. They wore bright colors, laughed, had fun, and truly enjoyed their lives—even though they, too, got bullied. I envied them. That’s when I realized that I didn’t want to live a life of hiding. I wanted to be like them.
Now, as an adult, when I encounter negativity or bullying, I remind myself of that lesson. If someone tells me my voice is weird or that I’m not helping anyone by doing what I do, I thank them. Yes, I thank them. Because their comment means I’ve been noticed, and the only way to grow is to be noticed.
If you’re feeling afraid of posting on social media, sharing your art, or putting yourself out there because of potential criticism, here’s what I want you to know: the best way to respond to those people is to do it anyway. They want to put you in a box—but you don’t belong in a box.
So stand out. Thrive despite them. And most importantly, do what you love unapologetically.
