I have committed to living life with a sense of wonder, always embracing the opportunities for exploration that life presents. Sometimes, this means seizing the chance to learn something new and venture completely out of my comfort zone. So when I repeatedly encountered an advertisement for a pottery class at Au Comptoir des Arts Yaoundé, I decided to sign up.
Expectations
My experience with pottery is limited to my first attempt during a Mandela Rhodes reflective exercise and scenes I have watched in movies. I had high expectations for the class but not for myself.
Reality
Au Comptoir des Arts in Yaoundé is a well-maintained building with manicured lawns. The doodles and designs on the walls of the outdoor area where the class takes place sparked my creativity and made me want to dive straight into the class.
As soon as I entered the classroom, one instructor welcomed me and another handed me a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, then asked me to draw what I wanted to create. I told the instructors that I had no experience but they were encouraging. They seemed to have high expectations of me.
The instructors taught each student how to roll and mould the clay, monitoring our progress to ensure we were getting close to achieving our goals. By the end of the class, I was close to reaching my objective. I just ran out of time, so I had to make an adjustment to the design but I was so proud of my work.
Lessons from Pottery Class
I didn’t realise how desperately I needed an escape until the week I took the pottery class. Each time I’ve made a big decision, it has been accompanied by several moving parts, and that week, I was in the thick of making plans to rearrange the life I had known for the past two years.
Pottery was a saving grace. Engaging in something completely new and unrelated to my fears and worries helped me realise that I was indeed on the right track. Once I completed my pottery creation, I felt calm and ready to conquer any challenge.
If you ever feel overwhelmed, I recommend exploring a new adventure. It’s an excellent way to clear your mind and calm yourself down. In my case, I also got to learn a new skill.
