Maybelle's Letter to Her Younger Self

I am super excited to announce the winner of Maybelle’s Workshop in A Box. It is…(insert drumroll): Kathleen! Her winning question was: What would you write in a letter to your younger self? I loved this question too. There were SO many good ones, this one really needed a pause to think about the answer. I have published Maybelle’s answer below, which I thought was so eloquent. It makes me all weepy, it’s very special and great for anyone questioning their own path and how one career can lead into another and just trusting your instincts. Follow your heart my dear friends, you never know what magical place it will lead you to…

Dear Younger self,

Right now you are just finishing up your last year in school and your internship at the packaging design firm. You have just received a letter for an job offer as a flight attendant. You are questioning this career path as it is not what everyone else with a degree in design takes, but trust me, it is a good decision and one that will allow you to have lots of spare time to explore your life as an artist and designer.

Through your travels not only will you have access to all the best cities around the world on a regular basis, but you will gain crucial life and business skills while meeting so many interesting people. You will make friends in many cities around the world. You will meet your husband, who is amazingly supportive of all the things that you do, he will give you a very special gift, calligraphy lessons which will change your life. You will become an expert at time management and learn how to function with very little sleep this will come in handy later for your life with your twins.

You have no idea at the time, but you decide to send samples of your work to Martha Stewart Weddings, and the thank you note that you wrote to the editor will lead to your career as a calligrapher. You will work on very special projects on a regular basis with this magazine which will lead to other projects with brides and commercial clients. You will take some time off (three years, to be exact) once the twins arrive and when you return back to work you discover that you enjoy sharing your love of calligraphy by teaching workshops and inspiring others.

You will find a nice working mom/family life balance by teaching small workshops first in San Francisco and then Los Angeles, Portland, New York City, and then Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo and now Singapore. All the things that you love to do Travel, Design and Calligraphy all go hand in hand now. Just remember to always be yourself, trust your instincts and have no regrets.

Love,
Maybelle