Four Treasures of the Sky

by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

But above all, you must have respect for yourself. It is the monumental task of creating unity between the person you are and the person you could be. Think: What kind of person could you become, both as yourself and as an artist?

No matter what your intentions may be, you also must think of your actions and act from a place of truth. Relying on just one does not make you a good person. Do you understand?

Everything could be leading me to the same tragic demise. Or it could not at all. Or I have been silly and romantic and suspicious this entire time, and the only thing leading my life is me.

But I am telling you that I have to try. Even if there is a tragic destiny written for me, I do not care. I refuse to believe that this is it, now. It cannot be. I am telling you that I have to try.

The inkstone asks for destruction before creation—you must first destroy yourself, grind yourself into a paste, before becoming a work of art.