@Aalia 26 October 2022 more from that month

The day I realised that I don’t have to be ‘special’ to make a difference in the world or to be a change-maker in my own life was such a powerful one. I’m just an average person, not always healthy in my choices, from a working class background, often feel down and still struggle with real and traumatic things, no qualifications in art (scraped a B grade at school in it). I don’t stand out in a room and I didn’t start my journey/career with a master plan or any massive skill. I tried a lot of paths that didn’t work out. My first drafts are as terrible as everyone else’s. In essence, there is nothing fundamentally remarkable about my DNA. Still, somehow, a lot has ended up going well for me…. I’ve been able to make an art career, take a lead on projects that do good things in the world, make connections with all sorts of interesting and lovely people…. I‘ve asked myself a lot ‘what went right?’ and personally feel that there are two key things. Firstly, I learned how to persevere through discomfort, disappointment and failure and secondly, I‘ve had support to do so. That’s pretty much it. In the light of this, this is what I’m putting my 2023 energy into; creating things for you all that describe this process and creating environments, spaces, mentoring and community to help you keep going. It’s no more formed than that right now but I’m taking notes over my morning cuppa at 5am each day when the world is quiet. So can I ask a favour? If what I’ve said makes you feel like it connects, I’d love to chat some time and get more insight into what would make the difference. If you’d be willing, do let me know.