More on ego.

It occurs to me that "artsy types" walk a very thin line - the line between being inspirational and being unbearable.

One of the key traits of being an artist, I believe, is having a strong sense of self-awareness. The practice of regular, conscious, honest analysis of the self can give a person invaluable insight into how to conduct negotiations between the world inside of them and the world outside of them. Self awareness is the gateway to that elusive goal of "finding your voice".

Unfortunately, I think that a lot of people in the arts (performing arts, visual arts, writing, etc.) cross that line and leap right over self-awareness into self-absorption.

I am tempted to wallow in frustration over all the people that I've encountered and taken classes with (I was a theatre major) that fall into this category. However, I am instead going to admit that I am aware of this epidemic mostly because I was a prime offender, especially in my late teens. In more recent years, I've been working on walking the line and plan on continuing to do so.

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In other news, I received my edited manuscript from the beautiful and talented Kolleen today - hurrah! Along with it, Jason got the amazing monster that he ordered from her at her Etsy store, along with the monster's handwritten autobiography. It is now hanging on our livingroom wall, along with our Warwick Davis-signed photo of Wicket.