Is It Worth It by Melissa Elsner
What prompted you to pick this take on Contentment?
Prior to learning what our theme was for April, I had already begun journaling about something I was going through. I'm a firm believer that, no matter if it is valid or not, letting out the emotion you are feeling is healthy and necessary. And I love using this art form we call scrapbooking to let it all out. It just so happened, that after finding out that we were focusing on Contentment, I realized how perfect it all went together. It's kind of a "not so happy" but extremely cathartic layout.
Why did you choose this photo?
Prior to learning what our theme was for April, I had already begun journaling about something I was going through. I'm a firm believer that, no matter if it is valid or not, letting out the emotion you are feeling is healthy and necessary. And I love using this art form we call scrapbooking to let it all out. It just so happened, that after finding out that we were focusing on Contentment, I realized how perfect it all went together. It's kind of a "not so happy" but extremely cathartic layout.
Why did you choose this photo?
I was playing around with my camera one day and, as I was scouring my computer for photos, I came upon this one taken that day. My pose and facial expression went perfectly with my journaling and focus.
What symbolism did you try to bring through your design?
I pulled the flowers and butterflies from the Basic Grey collection as symbolism. These, I believe, exude the hope I have that the emotions I was feeling within the journaling, is temporary. It truly is! The other symbolism I wanted to portray was that it is good, healthy and a beautiful inner journey we go on when allowing ourselves to experience and work through those not so happy moments. At the same time, I wanted to be gentle on myself. Hence, the colors chosen. Soft. Forgiving. Loving. Timeless.
How did you feel about the message of the layout?
I love its honesty. I feel like I'm speaking on behalf of many. Those who are too afraid to admit to feeling this way and those who can't freely admit it. Let's face it... we can all be happy go lucky and believe in happiness and ourselves but, to truly get there, we gotta visit and process through the messy stuff too.
Why did you choose to show your journaling?
I pulled the flowers and butterflies from the Basic Grey collection as symbolism. These, I believe, exude the hope I have that the emotions I was feeling within the journaling, is temporary. It truly is! The other symbolism I wanted to portray was that it is good, healthy and a beautiful inner journey we go on when allowing ourselves to experience and work through those not so happy moments. At the same time, I wanted to be gentle on myself. Hence, the colors chosen. Soft. Forgiving. Loving. Timeless.
How did you feel about the message of the layout?
I love its honesty. I feel like I'm speaking on behalf of many. Those who are too afraid to admit to feeling this way and those who can't freely admit it. Let's face it... we can all be happy go lucky and believe in happiness and ourselves but, to truly get there, we gotta visit and process through the messy stuff too.
Why did you choose to show your journaling?
Because I had a lot to say and I wanted it out in the open. :)
Tell us a little bit about how you feel now that this layout is done?
Two words: Really Good! At the time of journaling those words, these were feelings slowly building up. I know the signs of when I'm about to implode and I didn't want it to get that far. So I journaled. And journaled. And journaled. When I transferred it to the layout, it was the final healing process. I've gone back to reread it several times and each time I feel like a piece of that "discontent" breaks off. So good!
I encourage everyone to create a "messy moment" layout. Any therapist will tell you, you have to go through those messy moments to get to the other side. So whether you let it out with art or music or a punching bag - it's good to work through it. It's no fun carrying around that burden!
1 comment:
What a strong title !!! How many times have I had the same thought... Thank you for the idea of journaling about it.
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