Catalyst 9 – Just Wait Longer



This week’s catalyst
is about “What do you feel pessimistic about?”

Journaling Reads:
I used to get pessimistic about everything. I felt that if things could
go wrong, they would. Then, I realized that with time things started to
get better and look less scary. So I learned to tell myself that if I
feel down, I just have to wait a little longer and, with time, all of it
passes.

CATALYST Eight – Guilt-less Pleasures



This week’s catalyst is about “What is your guilty pleasure and why does
it make you feel guilty?”

Journaling Reads:
I spent the last week thinking about my guilty pleasures and kept coming
up empty over and over again. I have lots of things that I shouldn’t be
doing but somehow I just don’t feel guilty about any of them.

Catalyst Seven – WSYIWIG



This week’s catalyst
is about “what makes you, you?”



I used the cardboard to emphasize the feeling of being “bare” and the
authentic me. I also tore the papers to give the impression that all the
layers of me were stripped off and this was the true me.

Journaling Reads:

what you see is what you get.

that’s me.

i don’t mince words. i am not cruel but i also don’t lie. i have no time
to play games. too many people have messed with my head and i refuse to
play with yours.

when you get me as a friend, you get a loyal person who will always be
honest, kind and generous.

i will not change on you. i will not deceive you. i will not stab you in
the back. i only know one way to be and this is it.

it may take a while to get to know me. to see that i truly care. and i
really will be there. always.

you may be confused. you may think there’s more under the surface. you
may wait anxiously to see what’s really going on.

but it’s really simple with me: what you see is what you get.

always.

Catalyst Six – Done



This week’s catalyst
is about “Someone or something that really frustrates you. Feel free to
vent, but in a therapeutic way.”

I’ve been hurt many times by people who seemed like they were my friend
but turned out not to be so. I decided to dedicate this week’s layout to
them. I used crackle paint and then inked it. I also made my own
background. I took a photo of one of my such friends and me and
scratched her face out and tore the photo. This was indeed very
therapeutic for me.



Journaling reads:
fake.

yes, i’m talking to you. i thought you were my friend. now i can see
that you don’t even know what it means to be a friend.

if there’s one thing i hate in the world more than anything else, it’s
people being one thing to your face and another behind your back. i
wouldn’t take that from anyone and i am surely not taking it from you.

i was surprised, at first.

then i was sad.

and then mad.

now i’m finished.

done.



Come
play
.

Catalyst Five – Unbounded Love



This week’s catalyst
is about “what you like best about yourself.”



Journaling says: There aren’t many things I like about myself but
I will always cherish my ability to love people in an endless and
unbounded way. When I love someone, even if just a friend, I give that
person 100% of myself. I am always there and will always do anything
needed. My capacity for love is my very favorite thing in the word.

Catalyst Four – Life is Going to Work Out



This week’s catalyst
is about “something you remember from your childhood.”



My whole life I was this sad, little girl. I always worried that
something was wrong with me or that I would always be unhappy. I wish I
could tell that little girl now that Life is going to work out for her
and that she should give up constantly thinking that something is wrong.

Catalyst Three – Us



This week’s catalyst
is about “the best part of your day.” I took a bunch of the photos I’ve
taken of David this year and made this.



The journaling reads:
Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been taking daily photos of
David. It guarantees that we spend some quality time together every day.

In the last month, we’ve also started taking walks when I come home and
it’s our time together. Now when I walk through the door, David says,
“Go for walk, Mommy?” I grab my camera and we run out the door. We hold
hands, we talk, we look at the flowers, we laugh, and I cherish each and
every moment.

What started as a fun little project has become the best part of my day.

Catalyst Two – Nature



Here’s my second
catalyst.
This week was about “a place you go to find your center.”

Journaling Reads:
when i feel like my problems are huge
and about to swallow me
i visit nature
i look at the towering trees
the endless ocean
and it reminds me
that i am a very small part of this earth
tiny
and my problems, i realize
are not so big.

Catalyst One – The Girl Behind the Camera



Here’s my art for the first
catalyst
. It was about “something you lost”.

Journaling Reads:
I am the girl behind the camera. I am the one who takes photos I capture
the moments I preserve the memories. There was a time when I was in
front of the lens. When I let people take my photo, but now when I see a
photo of me I cringe. I see all the flaws all the fat all the ugliness.
I lost the ability to see myself clearly. I can’t remember what it felt
like to look at the photo and see me. I miss that.