The Art of Reading Between the Lines

When I think about how meaning can be developed through occupational storytelling, I can see how my past experiences have shaped my current enjoyment of drawing. For years, I was a devoted stay-at-home mom, fully immersed in the whirlwind of family life, caring for my kids, managing the household, and supporting my husband. I love that I was able to fill that role and would not change anything about the decisions I made that led me down that path. However, I noticed that along the way I lost some of my self-identity through caring for others. I was in a rut, living life day-to-day without a clear sense of purpose or individuality beyond my family responsibilities. It wasn’t until I finally began a new phase of life by joining this MOT program that I began to rediscover and redefine who I am and want to be. I was no longer just a mother and wife but now I’m also a student and an aspiring occupational therapist. As I transitioned to pursuing my own goals, I found a new artistic side of myself when I began drawing as my new occupation for this semester’s class assignment. It was something I had never seriously tried before, but once I put pencil to paper, I felt a flow begin to emerge. Over the past few months, drawing has become a peaceful and meaningful part of my life. In the chaos of balancing life’s demands, drawing offers me a rare moment of peace. It allows me to find joy in the little things, and to express my unique perspective on life. It allows me to pause, reflect, and connect with myself in ways I hadn’t before. Each drawing creates a visual representation of my evolving self-identity and it’s been amazing to discover that I have a talent for something I once thought was beyond my capabilities. Through this discovery, drawing has helped me cultivate a sense of motivation for self-improvement. Personal success with this new experience has encouraged me to try new things outside my comfort zone and reminded me that I am capable of growth and change. This mentality is also important to me as a role model for my children. I want them to see that pursuing passions and personal goals is important, even amidst the chaos of life. 

As my finished images grew in number, I found that my artistic archive had become a way of documenting my new, developing identity. Drawing became a method of storytelling without words through each sketch portraying a snapshot of that moment in my life. This occupation has now become a part of my narrative and a way to celebrate my new identity. It holds a special meaning to me by reminding me that it’s never too late to rediscover who you are. For this final assignment, I decided to see if I could create something that required lots of straight lines and precise angles. Using math to draw sounded like a fun new challenge for me and I began to formulate my plan. Unsurprisingly, making every mark exactly straight, every line perfectly parallel, and every angle congruent with the next, was a slow and tedious endeavor. It wasn’t unpleasant for me, just time-consuming, and with a deadline looming ahead I had to rush through some aspects of the process that I normally would have done differently (better). Overall, I am happy with how it turned out and will have to try this method again sometime when I don’t have to rush through the final touches. That re-draw will have to wait a while though, since I’m BOOKED for the rest of the semester.