Land Rotty

If your life is an illusion, then what is real?
My life was built on social expectations: “do what you’re supposed to,” “be normal,” “be like everyone else.” That’s how I lived for 23 years, but in the last year, my life just fell apart—I lost everything from my prestigious job to my loved one, leaving me with nothing. At rock bottom, drowning in the noise of my own thoughts and fears, the only desire I had was to sketch an image that had been swirling in my head for a long time: a “black hole” or a boundless void that nothing external could fill—no matter how much wealth or joy I were given, it would never be enough. The thing was, I wasn’t living my own life. So, grabbing a piece of wood and a single canvas, I brought the image to life, and I liked it. The painting isn’t perfect, nor is the form; the varnish was even meant for wood, and there are brush hairs on it, but damn it, it’s real—and that’s when I understood. That all this wealth and this stupid lack are just a non-existent image imposed by society, and the real thing was always right in front of me—the real picture isn’t perfect. So I embraced a new life; it turns out there was always enough, it’s just that the dreams and desires were someone else’s, not mine. Be this or...

Engineer and teacher