My Gift to Gift Anonymous

I held up a self-portrait that I drew in my beginner art class during junior year. The shadows were off, my eyes were lopsided, and my lips were triple the size of what they were supposed to be.

“Um... try again,” my art teacher said, as she tried to help me fix my drawing abilities, or lack thereof.

Moral of the story: I struggled to convey my creativity through art.

Although beginner art marked the start of my drawing career, it also marked the end. However, I discovered that I expressed my creativity better through other means: giving gifts and making handmade cards.

In 9th grade, I gave my friend a gag gift that I called “How to Crush Your Crush,” which included scissors to cut off any toxicity, a box of tissues, a framed photo of her celebrity crush, and loads of chocolate (of course). In 11th grade, the only way that I could convince a three-year-old girl that I taught at work to float on her back was by pretending to be Moana; the sea calls her, or in my case: a four-feet deep pool. When her parents told me they were moving to Hawaii, I got her a swimming Moana doll and attached a card that said, “I know one day you’ll be the bravest back floater of all time. I’ll be able to tell people that I taught you when you were...