Well draw butts n dicks infront of every one then you just might get the larger room? :3

I currently work at a grocery retail, and I can definitely sympathize with you with how family members might feel if they realize we’re trying to do something else in tandem with a basic job. They feel it won’t make enough money, and try to drown every single ounce of potential we have because of a myriad of thoughts going in their mind that are probably always worried about the well-being of their child.

I had to keep many things a secret from my parents to avoid conflict in how they would conceptualize the usefulness, and economic potential of the things I spent hours upon hours learning. It can be intimidating, especially in your position where you have the chance to do what you like doing, making money from it, and having to balance other things as well to give the impression to your family that you’re at least making something of yourself.

Every single time, I feel as if they think I’m not doing anything useful, and part of the fault on my end is just a lack of communication, and not wanting to deal with how they would react if I told them I wanted to be in the 3D Industry in the future, or something like that. And while I’m working my butt off with grocery retail, and building up good impressions there, I have to get used in balancing how I research videos, books, etc., and practicing my art skills in both 3D and 2D as well. Sometimes even staying up late at night, and just persevering by using sheer willpower to just not give up is necessary to prevent those blocks of not being productive, and making end results happen.

Nothing against your mother, but don’t let her words on how “it’s not going to be enough” bring you down, because other people would definitely want to be in your shoes of how much you worked to get where you are today. Income is income, and money coming into the household is still money, right? When we’re faced with parents that care about our well-being, and want us to strive for more, often resorting to scare tactics to make us go for those ambitions, it’s hard wanting to align to their ideals, or working in the shadows in hopes that someday we can prove to them that we’re capable of existing and surviving because there’s always alternatives to reaching middle class, or even high class status.

So when she’s saying “you’ll never get better at it,” she’s probably just using that as a proxy of just being worried about their child like mothers would naturally contemplate on. And the irony is, if she’s willing to state that you can’t get better at the artwork, it kind of reflects on her lack of being able to unconditionally believe in her own children’s capabilities. It’s that kind of thing that stings us over time, and can really affect us when we take it too personally, especially to people we have close bonds with.

As much as that sounds depressing, and kind of crazy at the same time, you could conceptualize the adversities you’re facing as a chance to just show that you can become an adult to them. I realized that just merely portraying to my parents that I’m a hard worker, telling them how others in my job like how hard I work, and things of that nature gradually eases into their mind that their child is doing their best. But if we can’t portray it to them directly, or even through hearsay, they’ll just nag at us. And honestly, the nagging and paranoia they have is just a sign that they at least care about you, even if what they say to you may have negative connotations. But again, if you want to get out of that sadomasochistic and cyclical trend we have with parents, it’s just about proving them wrong (e.g. being able to show her you can use your endeavors of art as a supplementary source of income), but in a way where they know we’re not taking it personally (because they’ll probably just nag on how we’re just being immature kids like we were before). The more you express yourself in being flexible with many sources of income, and just who you are in general, the more they’ll have to break their concept of you. In other words, maybe they’re worried that their image of you in the past (e.g. as a child) is slowly crumbling down because they probably can’t accept that you have to be treated as an adult, and an individual that can financially contribute to the household. But again, you don’t have to take my conjecture seriously.

As for the whole hiking thing, this reminds me of situations where it couldn’t be helped, and I had to find some way to see things that may take away from my time of developing my skills as a chance to contemplate on what to do next. If you have to go with her, maybe you could use the hiking park as a medium to speculate what you could do in your art in the future. I guess it’s about being flexible in thinking and imagination in any environment, and it may be a source for inspiration. Or it could just be a real pain, so it’s really a matter of disposition on your end.

Maybe I’m crazy, but I think those chances to temporarily escape from our main area of developing our skills, making cash, and such to imagine new ways to improve and inspire from in other areas could be a good thing in the long run. It’s going to feel like hell at first, but if it’s something we’re going to be forced to do with someone, might as well find how to assess ways to be more creative.

I know I’m just a random stranger, but I do wish you the best in having a less crappy experience with family and such. I hope this post of mine doesn’t give the impression that I want to change your life or anything, just want to give a little of experiential learning I’ve developed. Hope you have a safe trip to Queensland!