As we celebrate our 10th Anniversary of the Wooster Collective website, we asked a group of artists who we showcased in the beginnings of the website the following question:

What's the one thing that you learned in the last decade that you had wished someone had told you 10 years ago?

The following response comes from Mark Jenkins:

I have been following the responses of other artists and Calma's advice really hit home. I wish I read it ten years ago...

"I think it should be to learn to put things in perspective, see what's really important and what's just there to stress you out and would show up every day in a hundred ways just to ruin the day or the week. To learn not to give a negative fuck about those small things, to care less about every single thing, every phone call not answered, every project, a show, deadline.  There was always the feeling that this one was the one girl, show or opportunity..."

I always had the idea that you find the thing you like doing the most in life and you hook yourself to it like a mule to a cart and grind away until you reach some pinnacle...but it turns out that in the end it never arrives.  Life isn't a mountain. The journey is the only reward.