The Shape of Perseverance
Hi, if you’re reading this, thank you for getting here and making it this far. Seventeen words into my very first blog for my passion project, Destination Peace.
However you found your way here, whether we met at a market, a zine event, through work, or via a random Google search, if you’ve made it this far (about 50-ish words in), I’m honestly blushing.
This is my first real attempt at writing a blog.
I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but doubts and insecurities kept getting in the way. At some point, I finally asked myself: why not share more of my thoughts and a bit of my journey? So here we are.
I’m officially a little over a year into Destination Peace. In that time, I’ve created eight workbooks, eleven mini zines, and participated in nineteen markets and retreats. It’s been fun, meaningful, and creatively fulfilling, and I want to keep going.
So here I am, closing out 2025 and stepping into 2026 by starting a blog.
I went back and forth trying to research whether people even read blogs anymore. Eventually, I landed on a simpler question: does it matter to me?
Destination Peace started as a passion, something that uplifted me and filled my soul. Over time, it became something I wanted to share with others, and that part has brought me so much joy. So no, it doesn’t really matter, but I hope it helps someone, even in a small way.
In 2025, I chose a power word to guide my intentions for the year:
ALIGNMENT
I truly feel like I embodied it. It showed up in how I shaped each workbook, how I paced myself, and how I stayed grounded in purpose and lightheartedness. Alignment, for me, meant learning where I fit and honoring the way I wanted to create.
Toward the end of the year, I almost forgot about the idea of choosing a power word until my mom reminded me. Her word for 2025 was Uplift, and she shared that Courage was calling to her for 2026. I immediately loved that for her, and secretly for me too, but I couldn’t steal her word.
As she was talking, another word landed clearly in my mind:
PESERVERANCE
I knew instantly that was it.
To me, perseverance means continuing forward even when things are hard, slow, or unclear. It means planting seeds, pushing through discomfort, and growing stronger along the way. Roots before fruit. I am building the foundation of my dreams now, and I am committed to carrying on.
I am seventeen years into a career that I have found meaningful in many ways, and I am deeply grateful for that. At the same time, I finally feel like I have the bandwidth to explore and actualize deeper parts of myself through Destination Peace, things I am truly passionate about and enthusiastic to build.
According to 2025 research by Apollo Technical, about 65 percent of U.S. employees say they are satisfied with their jobs, but only around 20 percent report feeling genuinely passionate about what they do. That gap really resonated with me.
Would it be amazing to transition into full-time Destination Peace work someday? Absolutely. But for now, I am content nurturing it as a full-time hobby with a lot of heart.
There is also real value in that.
A 2023 Nature study found that people who engage in hobbies tend to experience fewer depressive symptoms, better self-reported health, greater happiness, and higher life satisfaction across multiple countries. Creativity and passion matter.
If you have made it this far, thank you.
I am not even sure if this added value to your day, but I truly appreciate you being here.
Thank you if you have supported Destination Peace before. Thank you if you are new and curious. And thank you if this inspires you to explore self-discovery, reconnect with a hobby, or even entertain the realistic fantasy of turning your passion into something meaningful.
If you are familiar with my work, you know I love symbolism, so I will end with one.
While thinking about how to represent perseverance, a few ideas came to mind: seeds growing underground before becoming something mighty, or small creatures like ants or turtles taking steady steps toward a big goal. But the symbol I keep coming back to is the spiral.
The spiral represents how progress is not linear. It includes setbacks, pauses, and revisiting old pain, but it still moves forward. It still grows.
So I will leave you with a few questions:
What brings you joy or passion that you want to make more space for?
What are you persevering through right now?
Do you have a power word for the day, the month, or the year ahead?
Drawing prompt:
Draw a spiral that represents your own journey. It can be neat or messy, tight or wide. Along the spiral, add symbols, words, or small images that represent challenges you have faced, moments of growth, or things you are still working through. There is no right way to draw it. Let it reflect where you are right now.