Sam was tired of being tired. Life was just too much. There was the stuff with their dad, the neverending dating nightmare, and the everyday challenges of just adulting. Sam wanted something that was just theirs. Something that they could actually do. Something they could actually make.
It could be something small, they thought. Just something they could manage that didn't require a ton of investment. They looked around their dingy and untidied apartment and tried to figure out what they could do with what they had. They had some basic art supplies and a stack of recycling. Then Sam remembered something they used to do as a kid: collage.
It would be easy enough to start, Sam thought. They had scissors, notebooks, markets, glue, and a stack of junk mail that had pictures and text. The first collage Sam made was cluttered with too many words--perhaps reflecting the too many thoughts running through their head.
One was enough for the first night of collaging, thought Sam. And so they went to bed.
The next day, after a particularly grueling day at work, Sam made two. They still weren't impressed with the outcome, but it felt nice to do something with their hands and have a product at the end of the day. These two were more centered around pictures, bringing some much needed color to Sam's coffee table that was normally cluttered with bills and medical forms.
The following week, Sam rummaged through their mom's recylcing to get some higher quality things to cut up. Their mom still got newspapers and magazines in the mail, so Sam came home with a ton of great material. They were able to make collages based around themes instead of just based around what limited papers Sam had.
As time went on, Sam got bolder and more experimental with their work. Making pieces about their struggles, but also about their passions. After gifting a few large pieces, their friends and family encouraged them to try and do more with their work. Sam's therapist reminded them to make sure that they weren't taking the hobby and turning it into another stressor in their life.
Sam started an Etsy store for their work. They made fandom collages, commissioned works, and literary pieces. Soon their business was a solid side-gig and Sam invested most of the money back into the hobby, making more and more pieces.
Then, Sam's dad died.
Everything stopped and started all at once.
The only thing that Sam didn't take a break from was collaging. It helped them get their feelings out. Their fears over not spending enough time with their father before he passed. The realization that one day, everyone would die. Their anxieties over planning the perfect memorial. The pain of trying to balance life and death. Sam made pieces to express it all.
Sam's social media following had grown along with their shop and soon a local coffee shop that sold art pieces reached out to them and offered to display their pieces that they'd made around their dad's death. The coffee shop planned on hosting a series of death cafes and thought Sam's work would be perfect for it.
The displays at the coffee shop propelled Sam's work even farther, but also propelled Sam to put more of themself into it, to truly utilize this outlet not just for extra cash and local recognition, but for a means of expression and support.
Who knew an innocuous hobby could do so much?
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
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