Burdened Self
“The heaviest weight we carry is the one we place on our own shoulders.”
The Story
Some pieces feel less like art and more like confession.
Burdened Self was one of those pieces.
I was not trying to impress anyone with this sketch.
I was not chasing perfection.
I was sitting with my own struggles and trying to draw what they felt like.
The figure in this piece carries a weight you can’t see because it isn’t physical.
It’s the invisible heaviness we all know:
doubt, regret, fear, shame.
The voice in your head that tells you you’re not enough.
The standards the world sets that you were never meant to meet.
The isolation that comes when you believe you have to face it all alone.
As I drew, I realized this is not just my story.
It is ours.
Why It Exists
We all carry weight no one else can see.
Some days we manage it.
Some days it crushes us.
Burdened Self exists because I needed to remind myself and maybe you that it’s okay to feel heavy sometimes.
That vulnerability is not weakness.
That connection can lighten the load we think we have to carry alone.
We are not meant to fight these battles in silence.
And we are not defined by the weight we carry.
Artist’s Note
“I drew this on a day when the voice in my head was louder than I could handle.
Each line became a way to answer it not with perfection, but with presence.”
There are days I still feel this way.
Days when self-doubt creeps in.
Days when the world’s noise drowns out my own voice.
But drawing this piece reminded me:
We can face these shadows.
We can name them.
And we can keep walking even when we feel broken.
If this piece reaches you, I hope it reminds you:
You are not alone.
And you are more than your struggle.