You Are Not You

You are not just you. You are the sum of every place where you have been, everyone that you have met and every single experience that you have had. And because of this you are unique. No one can see life the way that you do. No one can create the work that you do. And even if someone else tries to copy you or you try to copy someone else, in the end your true self will always come out. No one can be like you.

It is often said in the creative arts that you must find your signature style. You are supposed to figure out what makes you different from the rest because that is what will make you recognisable, that is what will sell. But figuring out a style is probably the longest and hardest of all the journeys of the artist and in some cases, if you work long enough, you will have many styles throughout your life.

I believe that you don't find your style, your style finds you. You don't develop a style by working on your art for one day, one month or one year. You develop a style after years of devoting yourself to your craft. And when you finally do, I bet that you will be the last one to notice. You will feel like you are just being yourself. Miles Davis allegedly said on this regard: "sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself."

So don't force yourself to have a certain style or to try to figure out if you already have one because that will put your creative process at risk. Instead, embrace the fact that life has brought you right here, to this moment and to this place where you are working on your art and just be yourself. No one else can.

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