When Time Stands Still: Why I Finally Chose to Paint

There’s a question that changed everything for me:

“What is the thing that makes you forget to eat?”
What’s the activity that suspends time — where you blink and hours have passed?
For me, the answer was clear: painting.
Always painting.

But for a long time, I didn’t let myself choose it.

I was raised with a practical mindset — taught to build a stable career, walk a clear, respectable path. I earned a master’s degree in economics. I checked the boxes, followed the map. But something was always missing. A quiet ache in my chest. A hunger that couldn’t be fed by titles or paychecks.

That missing piece?
I found it in brushstrokes.
In oils, to be exact.

There’s something about the buttery feel of oil paint. The way it moves. The way it waits. It feels more like breathing than work. It reminds me of walking in my neighborhood forest — tall pines, silence, the smell of moss. That forest smells like life to me. And now, painting does too.

Today, I live differently.
I live fully.
With three little kids (yes, three!), a loving husband, and the studio of my dreams — light-filled, with nature just beyond the windows.

It took me too long to silence the doubts.
Too long to stop letting imposter syndrome steer the wheel.
But eventually, my heart became louder than my fear.

So if you’re reading this, wondering if it’s too late for your own dream — let me tell you:

It’s not.

Start small. Listen to the whispers.
You don’t have to leap — just turn toward what moves you.

It’s worth it.
You’re worth it.

With love,
Aureja