Personal Narrative- Using Art to Escape Boredom

Quite often different people I come across commend me on my creative ability to draw and paint. The observer's comments usually include the question "Where did you learn how to draw like that?" I normally tell them some generic answer like "a lot of practice, " but truthfully my response should be "in my miserably boring childhood." However I usually refrain from being that honest to either avoid a weird look or to avoid a lengthy explanation like the one that follows.

Compared to some of the horrible stories of child abuse I've heard, my childhood was a Walt Disney fairytale, but in my own eyes I was an unhappy kid. I was born in 1972, which is the Chinese Year of the Rat (the rat's Chinese characteristic is to scavenge for survival, which is also a part of my personality). From old pictures, my fragmented memories, and tales told by my grandma Mildred, I was close to my parents during my first six or seven years, especially my dad. My dad, Richard, was employed straight out of college as an Aerospace engineer with the Logicon Corporation (where he still works to day). He married my mom, Loretta, (who also became an Aerospace engineer for Logicon) seven years before I was born. My parents fought almost every night as far back as I can remember, and I can still recall covering my ears with a pillow to escape their bickering. I've always sort of believed that it was my mom's fault, possibly because her voice was always the loudest screech I could hear. I know the blame should rest equally between them, but my mother was always so demanding and emotional while my dad was a quiet man who was able to control his anger unless really pushed. I think she was used to a lot of emotions in her past and would intentionall...

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...e, I was already set into an isolated lifestyle. I could never get back to the family closeness I had felt as a small child, and since I never grew up with anyone I went to school with, I didn't have much in common with them. Out of my well-developed personality as a loner I became a talented (so I'm told) artist in an effort to self entertain and distract me from my lonely life. Although I never had any imaginary friends growing up, I did have an imaginary world, in which I built with Legos and drew with pictures. These imaginary worlds I escaped to from my boring (poor little rich girl) childhood, not only comforted me but allowed me to develop the creative skills necessary to be an artist. From some people's definition my childhood may not have come close to miserable, but to a sheltered twelve-year-old there is nothing more miserable than being bored and alone.