Please Don’t Draw Like That by Angely Alejandra

Please Don’t Draw Like That by Angely Alejandra - August 2026 Scholarship Essay

“I don’t like your drawing, please don’t draw like that anymore.”

Those two sentences from my mom when I was 12 took away my confidence about showing art to anyone. I remember standing there holding the paper and feeling like nothing I made was good enough. Even after she apologized, the fear stuck. For years, I only drew in private.

During that shutdown time, I never thought of giving up on my skill. Drawing comes naturally to me, and every piece of paper becomes my canvas. Even on math notes, I would sketch a small drawing, a bee here, a bunny there. Faces and ideas everywhere. My mind stayed full of stories and worlds I wanted to make. The idea of actually showing the work still made me anxious. My heart would race, and my hands would get sweaty just thinking about someone looking at it. So I kept everything to myself and just kept practicing.

Through all that quiet experimenting, I started finding a style that felt like mine. I also learned that art is subjective. Some people won’t like what I make, but some people will. That simple idea is what finally helped me start showing my art again. Even now, when my mom doesn’t like some of my newer pieces, I still feel proud. I reached the goal I set for myself: creating art and telling stories through it.

The biggest change is how I handle feedback. I used to hear any criticism as a reason to hide. Now I try to listen, take what’s useful, and keep going. That same habit helps me in school. When a teacher points out something weak in my work or a project feels hard, I don’t shut down the way I used to. I treat it as information and figure out the next small step.

Knowing I could recover from those first harsh words makes me believe I can keep improving, in art and in everything else I’m trying to get better at.