There is a little garden shed in my backyard.
To most people, it's just an old shed with a workbench and a few tools. To me, it's where my life quietly changed. Twice.
Years ago, I spent countless mornings sitting at a table inside that shed, filming gardening videos. I wasn't thinking about becoming a YouTuber. I simply loved growing things and sharing what I learned. Looking back, that little room taught me how to tell stories through a camera long before I realized I'd need those skills again.
Then life changed.
As the years passed, my back and feet slowly made gardening more difficult. Eventually I reached a point where I knew I couldn't keep making those videos the way I wanted to. For a while I wondered if my creative years were behind me.
One morning I walked back into that same shed.
I sat down at the same table.
But instead of picking up a shovel or camera equipment, I picked up a pencil.
I wasn't trying to become a professional artist.
I wasn't thinking about selling prints, publishing books, or opening an online art shop.
I was simply trying to find another way to keep creating.
Looking back now, I'm incredibly thankful life didn't unfold the way I expected.
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If you'd rather watch than read, here's the complete story.
▶ Watch "I Almost Never Shared My First Drawings" on YouTube
Forty Years Without Drawing
Drawing had once been part of my life.
Back in high school, I painted a horse that I was proud of. Like many people, I assumed there would always be time to come back to art someday.
Then came college.
Work.
Marriage.
Family.
Responsibilities.
One year quietly became another.
Before I realized it, forty years had gone by without really drawing at all.
Like so many people, I carried around a convenient excuse.
"I don't have the patience."
The truth was much simpler.
I had never given myself another chance.
The First Sphere
Eventually I bought a sketchbook.
I sharpened a pencil.
I opened to the first blank page.
Then I drew a sphere.
Looking at it today, it's rough.
Really rough.
At the time I almost made sure no one would ever see it.
In fact, I almost didn't upload any of those first drawing videos to YouTube.
I was embarrassed.
Not because I didn't enjoy drawing...
but because I thought people would only see the mistakes.
Today I'm grateful I left those videos online.
Without them, I would have forgotten what beginning actually looks like.
Bella
There was another reason I wanted to learn again.
Her name is Bella.
Sometimes I'd watch her lying in the grass, chasing squirrels or simply enjoying a quiet afternoon.
I'd catch myself thinking,
"I wish I could sketch that."
Not because I planned to sell the drawing.
Not because anyone would ever see it.
Some moments simply feel too meaningful to exist only as photographs.
So I practiced.
Most pages looked more like exercises than artwork.
Some were awkward.
Some were funny.
Many weren't worth framing.
But every page quietly taught me something.
How to notice light.
How to simplify shapes.
How to slow down long enough to really see what was in front of me.
The Part I Couldn't See
When I look back at those first drawings today, something surprises me.
At the time I couldn't see progress.
I only saw flaws.
What I couldn't see was that every imperfect drawing was quietly preparing me for the next one.
I wasn't drawing books.
I wasn't creating prints.
I wasn't building a YouTube channel.
I certainly wasn't imagining an online art business.
I was simply following a small hope.
One day I wanted to sit beside Bella with a sketchbook and capture a moment that mattered to me.
Funny how one small dream can open doors you never knew existed.
Something Unexpected Happened
Eventually the drawings improved.
That wasn't the biggest surprise.
The bigger surprise was what happened inside me.
Drawing changed me.
When I started, I thought I needed confidence before I could create.
Instead I discovered something completely different.
Confidence didn't come first.
Purpose didn't come first.
Showing up came first.
One drawing became another.
One page became another.
One morning became another.
Somewhere along the way I realized I wasn't just learning to draw anymore.
I was learning how to begin again.
The Drawings Were Never the Destination
People sometimes assume this journey was about becoming an artist.
It wasn't.
The drawings simply became the way to tell a larger story.
Today I hope these videos encourage someone else to dust off an old dream.
Maybe yours isn't drawing.
Maybe it's writing.
Woodworking.
Gardening.
Photography.
Quilting.
Starting a small business.
Learning an instrument.
Or something you've quietly wanted to try for years.
Don't wait until you think you'll be good enough.
Good enough usually arrives much later.
Beginning always comes first.
Why Those First Drawings Matter
Ironically, those awkward first drawings may be the most important artwork I've ever created.
Not because they're beautiful.
They're not.
They're important because every drawing I love today exists because I was willing to make one that wasn't very good.
I'm also thankful I never deleted those early YouTube videos.
They remind me that every meaningful journey begins looking ordinary.
Sometimes even awkward.
If you're standing at the edge of your own blank page today, I hope you'll start.
One day you may look back and realize that your first imperfect attempt was actually the beginning of something far more meaningful than you ever imagined.
Keep creating. ❤️
Mitchell Trumble