Created to Create: Journaling Life and Art, By Nieva

 Created to Create: Journaling Life and Art, By Nieva

Ever since I was young, I’ve loved expressing myself through  creative things . One funny thing about me is actually my name. My siblings all had longer names, but since they weren’t really fans of writing, my parents thought I’d be the same. That’s why they made mine shorter—they assumed I’d grow up too lazy to write it out! 

The joke is that I was the exact opposite. 

I loved writing so much that I would happily write my name over and over again in different fonts I could imagine. And it all started at home where my mom and I went through the basics: memorizing the alphabet, learning pronunciation, practicing how to hold a pencil, writing the alphabet (not even in the proper blue-red-blue format), and  finally writing my very own name . It was the first time I learned something using both my brain and my hands; and in that process, 

I fell in love with writing. 

You know the feeling of moving your hand while holding a pencil and it creates lines on paper? That fascinated me so much that it became the reason I wanted to attend school—to write. Like who actually wants to go to school just because of writing?  Apparently, me . And because of school, I later discovered journaling. It became a safe space to let out anything—whether it’s happy moments, core memories, embarrassing slip-ups, sadness, anger, confusion, or even my quiet prayers to God. Just to keep me from bottling things up, and it feels like talking to someone  who never interrupts . So when I got access to my parents’ phones and eventually their laptop, I realized I could also journal by typing or even recording videos. No matter the medium, it gave me another way to tell parts of my story.

As I grew up, aside from journaling, I became drawn to creative stuff in general, like doodling, painting, or DIY things in my own style. Art, for me, is another form of journaling—it’s telling a story without words. Sometimes it’s a drawing, other times it’s just random colors on paper, but  it all reflects on who I am and what I feel in those moments . 

These creative platforms have helped me reflect, analyze, and handle life better, especially during stressful or challenging times. I see them as gifts from God—ways He allows me to process my thoughts and share pieces of myself. In both words and art, I’m continually reminded that He made me in His image;  wonderfully and fearfully made (Psalm 139:14), and since He is the ultimate Creator, 

I too am created to create.