“Makeup is one thing we always associate with females. When men try to change these beauty standards, they’re always judged and made fun of. But I want to know who are we to decide that makeup is only women’s right?
I’m a makeup artist, not by profession but by passion. I was in the 10th standard when I decided that I will pursue fashion designing when I get into college. I was determined to follow my passion because it was the only thing that interested me. But in 2015, time changed for us. My father expired and we became financially weak. Things were very tough for us. I didn’t want to put more burden on my family by still wanting to go after my passion. Pursuing fashion designing is a very costly affair. Our financial condition worsened and somebody needed to step up to take responsibility for the family. I took the entire responsibility and gave up on my dream. Right now, I am doing my studies and also working in state force on my father’s position.
During this lockdown, while surfing through Instagram I came across a self-portrait artist and got inspired by her work. I went through some other artists’ posts to get a better idea of self-portraits and finally decided to create those. Yes, it is a lot of hard work and patience but when one starts working towards their dream, they’re not afraid of all the challenges. It’s been 2 months since then and I am still creating portraits to gain recognition on social media.
Ever since I started doing a job, things have been a little hectic for me. It’s difficult to make time for other stuff since I’m always occupied with my job and studies. Once this lockdown will be over, things will get even more difficult. I might not get the time to create self-portraits. That’s why I’m trying to make the best use of this lockdown to create content and showcase my talent. I finally feel my dream seems achievable and I don’t want to lose this opportunity over some lame excuses.
I thought if I start creating self-portraits, people will start appreciating my talent and all the hard work I put into it. But things never go the way we expect them to.
After this, I realized that winning over people’s hearts is a lot more difficult than it seems. It takes much more than just hard work to get others’ attention. I live in army quarters with my family. Because of the COVID-19 crisis, we’re not allowed to go out of the army area. All my portraits are clicked inside my room. Because of this most of my pictures are dull and I’m not able to create more content like other artists. I try to do my best with whatever I have. It breaks my heart when people comment on my work that my portraits are not good enough.
I know that achieving this dream is very difficult. I’ll have to face a lot of competition in the future. I’ll have to work ten times harder than I do now. I’m ready to give it my all because this is my dream. All I want from people is that they start appreciating talent rather than pulling down. Appreciation is the biggest motivation for all artists.
I had to give up on my dreams but not now. Having tasted what it’s like to work for your dreams, I don’t think I’ll ever give up on it. I want to follow my passion and fly high toward my dream. I know things seem a little out of place but what doesn’t come with challenges. I’ve the courage and determination to go after my goal and I am not stopping until I achieve it.”
Instagram – @swapnilchhetri2
*The views expressed in the above article are of the writer and not Winged Club.