Once upon a time, I told a story of how I got to have my first happy crush at work. As the name entails, it was just that -- a happy crush. It was shallow, fleeting, and overall just lacked impression in the long run.
Which brings me to a memory from 6th grade. Bear with me as I narrate and draw (digitally paint?) a moment from my childhood, and why I call this story Peter Pan and the Notebook.
The Notebook
This memory isn't a painful one, unlike the well-known Nicholas Sparks book and/or movie, whichever you have come across to. If anything, it personally feels nostalgic.
I was a silent kid. I didn't like talking unless I get talked to. For this reason, teachers seemed to like me. I wasn't rowdy. I listened in class instead of engage in idle chitchats with classmates. Because I didn't talk much, my classmates placed my opinions in group works at high regard.
Then there was this boy in class who was part of the unruly kids. He wasn't particularly boisterous; in fact, he was quite taciturn. But his best friends were loud and obnoxious, and more often than not, I believe I learned to roll my eyes because of them. This particular boy got infamous among the teachers as part of the rowdy students, so teachers would tend to make him sit beside the silent ones.
In sixth grade, this boy got to sit with me almost for the whole school year. We had been classmates since first grade, and had been seatmates more than once, but that year, we had been beside each other longer than the previous years.
More than just a classmate I get to talk to once in a while, he became a really great friend.
One day, I was sat in my desk when he placed a notebook on top of the armchair and crouched beside me. He laughed and told me to draw for him. He said he'd already drawn some on the notebook, so it was my turn.
It was going to be our drawing notebook, he said. I think he felt guilty for vandalizing on my notebooks with random doodles, often inking them to the point that the drawings bled to a couple of pages.
Everyone in class knew I liked to draw, so it meant a lot when he shared the notebook.
One of the first drawings was of Dragon Ball Z Goku. We would always draw the same thing on different pages of the notebook with the goal of finding out who drew which better.
The last time I saw him personally was in our sixth grade graduation. I don't remember who had the notebook last -- it was probably with him.
Peter Pan
Because the last time I saw him was when we were both twelve, in my memories he would be that boy who never grew up.
He would remain to be that boy, that seatmate, and that friend, who had quite the competitive streak when it came to drawing. The notebook was witness to how we tried to outdo each other, and thinking about it now, it was kind of funny.
And I like that I enjoy thinking about this particular period in my life. That meant this particular Peter Pan managed to make a statement in my childhood, and that means a lot to me.
Drawing this memory
These are drawn with the Note 10+ and MediBang Paint.
- Base sketch was done with the pencil brush (at 100% opacity).
- The colors were done with both pencil and watercolor brushes at 100% and 40% opacity, respectively. I am beginning to love MediBang's pencil brush!
The drawing (digital painting?) took around 40 minutes. I know it isn't anything fancy, but I really did enjoy this!