Trace It Again

You can start again, not just in theory, in practice.

There were days in design school when everything I drew felt wrong.

The proportions were off.

The lines were stiff.

The ideas? Either too safe or too wild to live.

But none of it mattered, because the roll of trace was infinite.

I’d tape a new sheet over the last and begin again.

No ceremony.

No shame.

Just another attempt.

Refinement through repetition. Clarity through motion.

It was the great mercy of the designer’s process:

You could screw it all up and still be allowed to keep going.

That trace roll held more than paper. It held permission.

And I’ve come to believe life works the same way.

You don’t need to wait for a new year,

a big moment,

or someone’s approval to begin again.

You can redefine yourself right now.

Today.

Not with declarations, but with practice.

Take a new action.

Speak a truer word.

Make a better decision.

Layer it over yesterday, not to erase it, but to evolve it.

Each day is another layer of trace.

Some lines from before will still show through.

That’s fine. They’re part of the story.

But they don’t have to define the final drawing.

That’s the secret the trace roll taught me.

You’re never locked in.

You’re never done.

You can always unroll a new sheet and begin again.

Field Note:

You are not a finished drawing. You are a daily draft.