I'm Such An Introvert...
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- Опубликовано: 1 сен 2023
- The Texas Woodworking Festival in Austin was enlightening, amazing, and challenging.
I uncovered new tools, connected with talented makers, and immersed myself in woodworking through various classes. Yet, amidst these discoveries, I was confronted with overwhelming social anxieties.
I also discuss my recent hiatus from social media and the unwavering support I've received from this community. If you've ever felt adrift in a crowd or grappled with self-confidence, you might find a piece of your story in mine. 🌳🛠️
For other tools and stuff I use, check this out:
www.amazon.com/shop/claraswoo...
Hope you enjoy!
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Website: www.claraswoodshop.com
Facebook: / claraswoodshop
#woodworking #clarakim #introvert #texaswoodworkingfestival #personaljourney 
Развлечения
The beauty of woodworking is the learning never stops. You learn when things go right as well as when they don't. Just keep making dust and enjoy the process...
Thank you so much - and yes, that is a great practice and quote to keep in mind. Definitely one I keep top of mind in woodworking, I think it ran away from me at the festival 🤣. But dust I will continue to make :-)
I applaud your honesty!
As someone who really, struggled with social anxiety my free advice is to take it slow. When you’re sensing that you’re getting close to your limits, step away while it’s still fun. The more of those little victories you can store up you’ll see that you got this!
You’re an amazing artist with a gift to share with the world!
Thank you so much! And yes, those are definitely points I’m taking away as well. Appreciate the positivity and encouragement!!
I think we are all a little introverted but that doesn't stop us from loving, from trying to express our fears and anxieties or our joys, life is not an easy journey and we have to. accept and ensure that it improves for us, when we want, nothing is impossible so you have to believe in it and move forward.
You got this!! Put a mic in my hand, and i can perform in front of any amount of people.put me in a room with a bunch of people and conversations, and anxiety takes over. Love your content!
Oh my gosh, that's so crazy! Do you sing?? :-). And thank you so much!
I get the same walking into events like this. The mental drain in processing everything going on is real. A lot of new information, faces, and other things bombarding you at once. Deciding how much is enough is a personal thing for everyone, so definitely doing all the things to find what's right for you. Thing is, I didn't get to go to the event and it's great to see the event through your experiences and share on shorts.
I appreciate that you enjoy the content from the event! It's definitely a learning experience for myself on how to navigate big events. I learned a lot and I'm happy to share :-)
As a husband with 2 daughters that have social anxiety i get what youre saying and my heart breaks for you im a 100% extrovert and Type A and never thought about social anxiety until both my daughters got it. Now I realize not everyone is like me....which is soooo Type A. Lol. Good luck and love your work
It was my first woodworking festival too! Anxiety was high over here too 😳🤣 but so happy I ended up going, learned a lot and met so many people I have been following for so long
Yessss, it was crazy - I’m happy to hear that I wasn’t alone in that feeling >.< The whole time I thought it was just me because everyone else seemed so natural and good!
Great meeting you in Austin. Can’t wait to see what you do next. 😊
Happy to have gotten to meet you as well!! Hopefully, I’ll be there next year too! ^_^
There's nothing odd, or out of place for your feelings and emotional responses with regard to the woodworking festival. You've packed a very large amount of experiences in to a short amount of time this summer. Including a couple of huge and challenging projects. Not to mention your visit to South Korea. All this to say the following; Your physical health and well-being are directly connected to your emotional well-being, and ultimately your craft. I listened as you were unsure how to label yourself. Primarily you're an artist, and a craftsman, or craftswoman, for the politically correct readers. Do the thing that feeds your spirit.
Thank you, Ronin Dosho! I agree that physical health has a huge impact on mental and emotional health. It could have been a factor in my stability as I hadn't been working out for quite some time now (have been recently getting back into it). As for my role in these types of events, I guess I mostly enjoy being a student. I think that I can still be a student and interact with people and I think I confused myself with a ton of ideas of what I SHOULD be like. The clearer I am with myself, I feel the easier the rest can be :-).
❤ damn, in Austin, but didn't let me know so I could have bought you a coffee and muffin and/or pastry 😢 thanks for sharing, seems like an awesome experience
Hahaha, maybe next time :-P
Glad you ultimately have good feelings about the event! And thank you for talking about emotional things and mental health because if we don’t talk about it we can’t improve / heal / get better! Creating art, and deep thinking has its perks but also it’s negatives.. mainly anxiety as it’s easy to become overwhelmed especially in big social events as artists tend to be in their own heads a lot more than everyone else. I felt very similar at Workenchcon this year, was a zombie by the end of it, but the experience overall was incredible at the same time.
Absolutely, the festival was an unforgettable experience! I think I underestimated how much big events could be overwhelming, especially given how much time I spend in my own bubble. Large-scale socializing is like woodworking in a way - it takes practice to get better at it. Thank you for your encouragement and for sharing your story!
Great video. An act of bravery. Mahalo for sharing! 🙂🙏🤙
I was really a wreck before making this video and my partner did a lot to encourage me throughout the process. Thank you so much for commenting and sharing your spirit! Mahalo!
I'll admit, I haven't been following your woodworking adventures. But I am now! I want to tell you how refreshing it is to hear your vulnerability and your highs and lows in all of this. Keep on keeping on. I'm trying to build up my own woodworking brand and business. So this stuff is great. Like and Subscribe from me!
Thank you so much, Josh! I really appreciate it! Sharing my weaknesses is tough and I hope that by acknowledging them and sharing them, it's the first step at getting better at them. Thank you so much comment and I wish your woodworking brand and business lots of success and prosperity!
It was great meeting you at the festival! Hope to see you next year!
Ahhh! I wish I could figure out who you were from the festival from just the name 🤣! Either way, it was a pleasure to meet you as well!
@@ClarasWoodshop - Our booth was right behind the Axe throwing in the corner! :D
@@ClarasWoodshop I was set up right behind the Axe throwing!
Attending these events makes us get out of the comfort zone of our shops. To explore, be curious, meet new people and learn new products, techniques and processes. We then come home tour shops reset and reenergized to do our own projects.
Absolutely - I did find myself at a low after the festival and after some time, I have been feeling better and better. You're absolutely right about that re-energized feeling :-). Thank you and appreciate you for commenting!
I found that the secret to dealing with conferences like this is to leave the conference for an hour or so to get lunch and clear your head. It's really too much to stay at a large conference center the whole day.
I think I actually need 3 of those, lol. We did go for one lunch break and that did help - two more might do the trick next time 🤣
Hello, first don’t worry, most of us get some kind of kickback at these early events. Second, you’re there for all those things you just have to switch back and forth quickly and walk away if you need too!! Third, one learns by attending, it’s that experience thing!! Lol One day you will suddenly feel better and then one day you will feel in control.
Just do it, role with issues, you will get as good as you want to be!
Bob
England
Thank you so much, Bob! It was so nice of you :-) My biggest weakness was definitely knowing how to walk away and I always wonder if I talked enough, lol. You're right about the repetition and it's also not like I'm going to these kinds of events every time. I will definitely be attending more and trying to improve and learn more as I go :-)
Keep your spirits up! I love your videos. I am a retired woodworker hobbyist and love to see new content.
Thanks, Joe! I really appreciate that you enjoy my videos. I'll be getting back to posting consistently once a week so stay tuned for those 😁🙌
Don't worry about your emotional lows. You are not alone.
Thank you! 🙏
Great video - not easy opening up on camera
Thank you - it was really tough to do. Hearing from so many that have felt similar feelings or have shared support has been very uplifting - I don't feel so alone in the journey :-)
the pizza party was cool. thank you and your partner for doing it. i believe you are doing better than you think y0u are. i like how you shared that you are an artist, not just a wood worker (chunky cat) . hope you can find a good balance doing your job and just art just for arts sake. looking forward to doing a coffee bean holder idea thing as soon as i fiure out what i and seeing if you are interested in it or not. (maybe i need to do it just to get better once iget better and get more tools than a saw, wood plane and drill)
The pizza party was fun and I’m glad that you enjoyed it too!! There’s a constant shift in finding a perfect balance between artist-woodworking and work-life but I think that’s also the point. Constant shifting to create balance. I can’t promise that I’ll have time to work on the coffee bean holder at THIS current moment but keep in touch! Who knows what will happen in the future. In the meantime though, at some point I’ll definitely be looking into how to make a good coffee bean holder out of wood for fun 🙌
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, not just with the festival, but your mental state! Those kinds of events are draining, even for non-influencers (next time, I need to opt for a hotel room instead of the combined 8 hours of driving over the two days), so I can't imagine what it's like to have to meet so many people _and_ try to absorb classroom knowledge. All that being said, I did enjoy getting to say hi to you and your partner!
Matthew!! I can't put a face to the name but if we got to say hi to you, we too really appreciated that moment :-). You're right, it's a lot, and I wasn't aware that I needed so many breaks and better pacing. A hotel room can really do a lot for personal space, ^_^ and I hope to get to see you again next year! Appreciate your support and don't be a stranger!
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😌🙏🙏❤️
Awesome! I didn’t know about this. I’m only an hour away from Austin. Thank you
Oh man, next year’s is gonna be so much crazier! You gotta go!
@@ClarasWoodshop will do! I’m currently building a shed to store my lumber but I’ll hopefully start posting videos within the first quarter. Seeing local artists making great channels like your own is really encouraging. Keep up the great work!
That sounds like a lot of fun! Wishing you the best in the project and hopefully we can say hi at the festival! 😁🙌
@@ClarasWoodshop sounds good! Take care now
Thanks for sharing. So there are other people who feel weird or even bad when they attend a convention or a fair with so many people around and trying to socialize 🙂Happens to some of us (of which myself). Greetings from Belgium.
Greetings! There definitely are and I am one of them 😁 I’m working on getting better with it so I HOPE I’ll improve with time 🤞🤞 Thank you for commenting and greetings from the USA! :-)
Wow that sounds so inspiring, fun but also mentally and socially draining.. That's incredible that you mustered enough courage to go to one day, let alone another. That's super inspiring and I hope it's given you a good boost for what you want to do moving forward both in your trade and in your personal growth!
I know this isn't the point of your videos but what sling bag do you use?? My daily sling bag just broke so i'm looking for a new one~
Yesss - it was incredibly draining and I'm happy to hear that you appreciate the fact I went back in there a second day, lol. As much as it was kicking my butt, I did walk away with so much more knowledge and ideas. All in all, it was all worth it :-)
The sling bag is the brand BANGE. You can find it on Amazon or look for a link in my bio :-)
I'm definitely not trying to diagnose you and obviously do not know you but the experience you described sounded more like autistic overwhelm rather than social anxiety purely from my personal experiences with both. Whatever the cause thank you for being brave enough to share and encouraging about what a supportive community is out there if we are open to it.
I appreciate your perspective and didn't take it as a diagnosis :-) I'm continuously amazed by the understanding and encouragement from the community when I share my weaknesses and plan on improving them. Thanks for being part of that supportive community
Video #6 for me !
wow, i would never know you were so drained after the first day. im glad you shared
Hahaha yeah it was a big event. I underestimated how I'd be like in that environment. But I've learned my lesson and I can better prepare myself next time I go to any big events 💪
I'm also based in Austin, TX.. humm. how did I misse this event.
Don’t miss this year’s! It’s gonna be in November! :-)
@@ClarasWoodshop What is a good table saw? Do you know anyone building a custom DIY table saw? Thanks