Guts (not the Olivia Rodrigo Album)

One normal day, I was sitting at my desk, painting some sort of watercolour and from somewhere in the abyss this quote landed in my head: “There is no progress without risk”. Now, I couldn’t tell you where it came from, possibly an Imperfect’s podcast or The House That Joy Built or possibly (unlikely) just my own head. Anyways, there I was, brush in hand, listening to Hozier and realising that I’d stumbled across something pretty important.

I have never in my life been a risk-taker. I have (many times) been accurately described as anxious, quiet, gentle and introverted. My school reports always said something to the likes of “diligent student, needs to participate more in class discussion”. These are not typically daredevil qualities. 

As an adult, however, I have begun to learn the value of a calculated risk. Because life without risk becomes utterly boring. In the art world, risk-taking is absolutely essential. DMing a brand might get you the job, posting a photo might sell your artwork and painting over something might make it a thousand times better. You never know what beauty a little risk might bring, in art and in the rest of our lives.

As we go on our big journey, kicking doors down, getting rejected and staying resilient, we take risks and sometimes the results (and the lessons) make the whole thing really worth it. The risks mean that we live our lives with the guts to go after what we really want.

So take the risk, kiss your crush, ask the big questions, wear the dress, sing the song. 

Take the risk, find the guts.

xx Rose