Okay, this might sound a little crazy at first, but bear with me.
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There’s a whole collection of images on Pinterest that feature aesthetic backgrounds and profound life advice. I believe these would fall under the aesthetic label of “hopecore,” if we’re going by the Gen Z classifications.
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Some of these images have actually changed the way I view the world, and helped me to better step into myself as a multifaceted human being. As such, I feel it is only fair to share these images with you all.
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A small disclaimer…
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I found all of these images on Pinterest. I did not create any of these images myself, and I do not have sources for them. The nature of memes like these is such that the original creator is seldom known.
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If I’ve used your meme here and you want it removed for any reason at all, please let me know and I will do so immediately.
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This is the first image in this genre that I found on Pinterest, and boy did it take me down a wonderful rabbit hole.
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I’ve always had a problem with shrinking myself to make others comfortable, I just hadn’t ever really put a name to it. I got bullied a lot growing up, and I learned pretty quickly that I was too much for a lot of people. For years, I’ve dimmed my light to avoid making other people uncomfortable. I’ve been so caught up in making social situations go smoothly that in a lot of cases I’m not showing up fully authentically.
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It feels really vulnerable to admit this all, but also freeing in a way. This one image sparked a lot of self reflection in me, and I’m seriously grateful to its unknown creator. Sometimes, all it really takes is for someone to put information in the right format for us to understand it best. For me, apparently a big part of that is memes.
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In any event, I hope that sharing this might help someone else grow like it’s helped me.
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This next image is another heavy-hitter. Being an artist requires failing a lot. You’ll have ideas and concepts that your skill level isn’t up to par with yet. You’ll make something you’re really proud of and look at it a year later and think it sucks.
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All of this is par for the course, but it can get discouraging if you’re constantly thinking of your past work as failures. Re-framing it as a “gallery of trying” takes a lot of the negativity out of it. It allows one to view past works as stepping stones towards even better future works.
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The work is never quite done, so you might as well view your progress as something to be celebrated.
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Have you ever been too harsh on yourself while you’re trying to learn something new? I know I have. This meme is a fun little reminder to be gentle with yourself. Failure is part of the process of learning– it doesn’t have negative connotations unless we give them to it.
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In the past I’ve really struggled with beating myself up for mistakes I’ve made while learning. Grace is something I’m still practicing giving myself, if I’m being honest. I’m not sure I ever will be fully done working on this skill.
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Okay, this one is probably my favorite of the bunch. It’s simple and to the point, and the wizard background makes me giggle a bit.
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I really do believe the sentiment of this meme, too. If you look at pretty much anyone super famous, they’re arguably at least a little bit of a freak. And I mean freak in the most loving way possible. We’re all a little weird inside, and embracing that authentically is magnetic. People can tell when you’re confident in yourself.
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Last but certainly not least, we have this gem of an image. I’ve actually printed this one and put it in my planner before. It could really go right next to the knight image and I think they’d compliment each other quite nicely.
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I’ve taken this meme as an encouragement to show up with all my “crazy.” Approaching my practice with an almost delusional amount of self belief has helped me leaps and bounds. Besides, anyone successful is at least a little crazy in some aspects of their work.
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Oh, and this meme in particular makes an excellent affirmation if you’re on the hunt for some good ones.
In Closing…
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I hope that this blog has at least given you some interesting things to think about. Of course, your mileage may vary. This selection of images is just a few that I found particularly poignant at this point in my life. I encourage anyone who’s interested to look at more memes in this genre. You never know what you might find!
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I know memes are kind of a silly place to get mental health advice, but they’re also an incredibly accessible one. If nothing else, they provide a good jumping off point for further research. Pinterest also has a lot of quotes about mental health that are worth exploring, especially if the above memes are a bit too simple for you.
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Lastly, please let me know if I’ve used your image and you’d like credit or for me to take it down. Authorship with memes is shaky at best, but I definitely don’t want to be taking anyone’s content without permission.
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Stay weird, believe in yourself, and give yourself some grace ❤
bogprism 
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