Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Practicing Courage

Life seems to test our courage constantly, in big and small ways. It would be nice if it were easier, but maybe the practice makes us stronger in the long run. 

I definitely struggled to come back to cartooning, but I'm glad I convinced myself to be braver than I felt in this instance. Often, all we can do is be a little bit brave, everyday. 

Wishing you daily courage, wherever you need it most. - Connie

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(After some time offline, I've started sharing updates again, on my blog and Ko-fi page. I'll be back on Instagram selectively. You can also sign up to hear from me directly on my portfolio website. Thanks for reading!)

Illustration of a cartoon girl with a bun rowing a boat with an oar-sized pen, navigating a Hokusai-style wave made of crumpled paper. Titled "Practicing Courage." Original cartoon by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2024


Panel 1/5: Illustration of a girl with a bun on the shore of a deserted island, looking out on open water. Text reads, "To find my way back to cartooning, I had to remember why I started in the first place." Original cartoon by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2024

Panel 2/5: The girl is wielding the giant pen like a spear now and says defensively, "You know, there's really a lot that could go wrong!" The caption reads, "This thought played in my head on repeat." Original cartoon by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2024

Panel 3/5: Text: "It never stops being scary to open yourself up and risk vulnerability. And the world IS a scary place. It's not just my imagination." The girl peeks out from behind jungle cover, eyeing her surroundings suspiciously, thinking to herself: "Hah! As suspected...danger, EVERWHERE." Original cartoon by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2024
Panel 4/5: Text: "I had to convince myself to pick up a pen everyday, regardless of outcome." Illustration of a cartoon girl with a bun rowing a boat with an oar-sized pen, navigating a Hokusai-style wave made of crumpled paper.  Original cartoon by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2024

Panel 5/5: Text: "This is what I had to do to start over." Girl in a small boat, rowing through a sea of crumpled paper with a large fountain pen, singing to herself, "Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream...Merrily, merrily, merrily..." Caption reads, "Cartooning, like courage, takes practice." Original cartoon by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2024


2 comments:

melydia said...

I'm so glad you're back!

Eric F said...

I hope you know how much you are appreciated by those who read your comics. You have shown courage so many times in the past with your honesty about your own struggles. And I know how many times I have read your comic and realized it was exactly what I needed to hear that day. And I am confident I am not alone in that. Welcome back.