My passion in life is painting

Being as young as I am, other neopets and humans don't take me seriously when I tell them that. Some even started bullying me. They said that painting is for girls and therefore, boys who paint are nothing but wimps.

That's why people don't really know me. I've stopped telling others what I truly love, so they don't know me at all. I don't wear my artist smock anymore because people would just think of me as a joke.

I haven't told my mother how I feel, I don't want to make her worried. I want her to think that I am a happy shoyru. But the truth is that I am happy when I'm with her. It was she who taught me how to paint and I love her for that.

I am thinking about changing my life. I mean, not being ashamed of what I like to do and who I am. I will tell you what happened to me today, because today was a magical day.

My mother woke me up at seven AM and pulled up the blind covering my window. It was sunny outside and it felt like the sunrays pulled me out of my bed and towards the window. It was the first day the sun was shining this fall. I'll paint this view when I come home I thought and smiled a faint smile.

I put on my white school shirt and blue newsboy hat and went down the stairs. A smell of strawberry fruit pancakes had escaped from the kitchen and filled every room in our neohome. I smiled. This day couldn't start better I thought as I entered the kitchen and sat down by the table.

"I thought we could make this day even better by having pancakes for breakfast" my mother twittered.

I gave her a big smile and then I began enjoying the delicious pancakes. As we ate we had a nice long talk about what we should do during the holidays. It felt great talking to her. It gave me strength.

After brushing my teeth I picked up my school bag, got some hugs and kisses from my mother and went to neoschool. I really enjoyed looking at the colorful trees while I was walking and I even witnessed a weewoo playing in a weewoo bath in a garden I passed.

As I arrived at neoschool, art class was almost about to start, so I hurried to my locker and took out my sketchpad. But I wasn't too happy about having art class as you'd think I would've been. That's because I don't dare to show the others how good I am, you know. So I walked away to the classroom with that same old depression in my face.

The hours past in a slow pace and the sunlight didn't cheer me up as I thought it would. We had an unprepared test in math but I thought I did okay so it felt kind of better afterwards. But at lunch a horrible wave of despair welled over me. Three neopets at my age came up to me and laughed their vicious and mean laughs. One of them, a brown wocky pierced right through me with his sinister eyes.

"Hey, why are you painted ghost when you are the wimpiest of all wimps? Ghosts are supposed to be scary not sissy, you know!"

His words broke me down inside and I almost got tears in my eyes. I walked away with my sandwich as I heard their annoying laughter. I sat down on a bench in the corridor outside the cafeteria and looked down to the floor. I just wished for the day to end.

I walked with my head hanging on my way home. I wasn't even in the mood for painting. I looked up to the sky. Wasn't this day supposed to be great?

"Excuse me young neopet" It was an old pet's voice.

I looked down and before me on a bench by the side of the road, sat an old spotted yurble. He was holding a flower in his right paw and a wooden cane in the other.

"Could you please tell me what the color of this flower is?" He said.

"Purple" I answered and looked at him as if he was some creature from outer space.

"Oh good, I like purple, you see"

I was quiet for a moment. Then I broke the silence, because I couldn't just stay quiet for all eternity, and it seemed like he wasn't going to say anything.

"Why did you ask me that?" I wondered.

He chuckled so that all of the wrinkles in his face moved. Then he stopped and his face got all serious.

"I lost my vision when I got old, but don't think that I can't enjoy life just because of that!"

I looked down to the ground. I felt so sorry for that old neopet. If I would have lost my vision I wouldn't have been able to paint and my life would be so miserable. At least that's what I thought.

"Tell me, young neopet, what do you like to do?"

I gave a jump and my eyes went wide open in fright.

"I-I-I" I stammered. I couldn't say another word.

He is a nice old yurble so why shouldn't I tell him? But still…

I shook my head, trying to get rid of my thoughts and fear.

"I like painting" I said and looked down in embarrassment.

The yurble looked a bit surprised but in a good way.

"Are you good at it?"

"I would consider myself good, I think"

He smiled and let out a big sigh.

"When I was young I liked to play the accordion, and I had a dream that I'd become a great musician"

I sat down beside him and listened carefully.

"My dream didn't come true, do you know why?"

I shook my head. Then I remembered that he couldn't see me doing that and answered him with a 'No'.

"The others didn't like to listen to accordion music"

I stopped breathing for a second. It's just like with me I thought.

"But I still enjoyed playing and I considered myself good, just like you"

He turned to me.

"Don't let the others sadden your life" He almost whispered the words to me.

"How do you know what I'm going through?" I nearly shouted.

"Take it easy, young boy. I could hear that you weren't very happy when you spoke to me, so I just gave you some advice and a nice story"

He chuckled just like earlier and I almost laughed as well.

"You are lucky, you know" He said.

"Why is that?" I asked. I couldn't understand why I would be lucky.

"You are lucky to both be able to see and transfer what you see onto a paper, and in such a wonderful shape that you will never forget it. That's what I call lucky"

I thought for a moment. Maybe he was right.

"If you let others know who you are, you might get some friends as well"

His words sounded so wise. It was like a new way of life had appeared to me and it seemed like a good one too.

I rose from the bench and turned to him.

"Thank you" I said. He smiled.

"I was happy to help. Now it's time for us to part"

I nodded, and with that I did the same mistake again. I shook my head and laughed to myself.

"Yes, goodbye then"

I smiled and waved even though he couldn't see it, but I thought that it would make him happy. Then I went home with a new and delightful feeling inside of me, and a new future ahead.

So what do you think? Wasn't that a magical day? That's what I think.

Anyway, I have just painted that view from my window, with the sun lightening up the trees and flowers outside. I am thinking about doing my best in art class and let others get to know me. And I will never be ashamed anymore, for I love to paint.

Hmm, maybe I'll wear my artist smock when I go to neoschool tomorrow.

The End