Last night Cooper wanted to make a new comic strip, but he was having trouble coming up with a new superhero and a storyline for his comic. After thinking about it for awhile, he came running downstairs and excitedly said: “Mom, I’ve been trying to come up with a new superhero and all along it’s been right here.”

I asked him to explain and he said, “Mom, my new superhero is Cactus Lady. She’s you. Cactus Lady can summon the power of cacti warriors and desert spirits.”

Holy. Shit. This might not seem like a big deal, but it marks a shift in my life and how I see myself. This year, I claimed the title of artist. I started calling myself an artist. I started creating art every, single day. I stopped apologizing for my work not being “good enough” and started loving it and really owning it.

When I made that shift, Cooper saw this and I was elevated to superhero status. Being an artist, being creative, being someone who shows up each and every day to make art … is a hero. Tell me this isn’t the most awesome thing ever? This part of me — my creative, artist soul — is what has saved me from sadness, loneliness, anxiety, and so much more. Art has healed me. And art has made me a superhero.

Yes. Yes. Yes.