A Throwback Thursday Hat

Today's Throwback Thursday is a little different from previous throwback posts. This post doesn't have anything to do with a specific post from out past. But it does have to do with my past. When I was around 12 or 13 (I don't know the exact age) I made a hat. My mom had taught me how to sew for 4-H, but I wasn't so keen on the projects available. I didn't like following a pattern. So one day I dug through the scrap fabric, grabbed the colors I wanted, and plopped myself down in front of the sewing machine to create the world's most awesome hat. I wore that hat all over and was so proud of it. I can't find an existing picture of me in the hat, but I did find these two pictures of me from that era in my life. 

Behold, 12 year old me:

Now that you have that adorable awkwardness in your head...imagine that 12 year old me running around with this hat on my head:

And just to give you an idea of how it looks while being worn:

BAhahhaha. World's best hat, huh?! I knew I was stylin'.  I was especially proud of that little tuck in the back to fix the fact that I'd made the hat way too big for my already ginormous noggin. And don't miss that cute little tuft of what remains of the silver pom pom I had attached on top. And did you notice the colors? I've been stuck on Orange and Blue for a long long time.

Why do I show this to you? 

1. Because it's funny and I like a good giggle. 

2. Because every now and again we need a reminder that life doesn't have to be Pinterest Perfect. 

You won't see a pin for a tutorial on how to make this hat, or a pin on how to do the fabulous fix it job when the hat was too big.  I'm sure my mother wasn't thrilled to be walking through Walmart with a 12 year old wearing a circus hat, but she never said anything to me. She saw that hat brought me joy and she never said anything to make me feel dumb or that my creation was sub par or stupid. She let me revel in my creativity and show off what I had made (I have the world's best Mom!). So if you are ever scrolling through Pinterest and starting to feel down or overwhelmed by all these "perfect" pins, I want you to think back to my circus hat and remember that a project doesn't have to look magazine worthy to bring you joy. A project doesn't have to be just like the pin for you to be proud of your work. The desire to create is in every one of us, and that desire manifests itself in different ways for each of us. It can be artistic creativity, baking creativity, finding ways to make people laugh, ways to keep a child entertained, putting together outfits, finding ways to make that old car run, etc. Let yourself find joy in your work, in your projects, in your life. Quit allowing yourself to feel pressure from what you see on Pinterest. Life isn't Pinterest Perfect; don't get caught up in that idea! Life is a Pinstrosity, a big, wonderful, colorful, happy, stitched together, messy Pinstrosity. And that is what makes life so wonderful!