A few months ago, I found a new hobby: Calligraphy. My bank account really hates this new hobby because I seem to always be wanting a new type of pen or new paper, but I enjoy it. The money I've spent on calligraphy supplies isn't the point though. The point is that I never expected to be any good at anything artsy, and I never expected to be this kind of person.

I never expected to be one of the people posting art on social media and showing it to anyone I think would be interested and even some people who aren't very into art. I've always kind of thought of myself as more of an academic person. I mean, I've had hobbies that weren't purely academic. I enjoy writing, songwriting, baking, etc., but none of those have required me to spend as much time and money in art stores as I do now. And, even though I still need to improve some, I've put in some serious thought concerning how I can turn calligraphy into a money-making opportunity.

Why am I telling you all this though? I'm telling you because calligraphy has helped me learn that you should never sell yourself short. I always assumed I wouldn't be able to do anything artsy, and as long as I had that mindset, I couldn't do art. But one day this summer I thought, "Well, why shouldn't I at least try?" Months of practice later, I can do some pretty decent hand lettering, and I have a new hobby that I really enjoy.

If there's something you wish you had the ability to do, I encourage you to at least try it. You don't need to be completely confident in yourself. You just need to be willing to try. I somewhat assumed that I would do try calligraphy for a week, decide I wasn't any good, and then stop, but I'm still having fun with it. Whether you wish you could draw, paint, play an instrument, write, do something academic, or something else, you should really just give it a shot because you just might surprise yourself. Maybe you'll be really good at whatever it is, and if you never at least try, you would always assume that you weren't capable.