I'm not in highschool, I'm 24.

Day Five:

I was ready and excited for day five of painting. Due to day four's freezing weather, I chose not to accept the 65 degrees my iPhone told me it was outside, so I was bundled up, hat, scarf, gloves, layered, and ready to paint outdoors. As soon as I stepped outside I felt ridiculous in so many layers. I quickly stripped my winter accessories off and felt the warm 65 degree air. (I love my iPhone but that damn thing sure is unreliable.)

I began with finishing the yellow window, giving it all of its layers and it's ready for the next step! Next, I mixed up a better green than the vibrant neon I had last time and layered that. Green window: ready for the next step! Next window was blue. Using the few paints I bought, my plan was to lighten some of my navy blue paint with white and use that on the fifth window. Easy enough, right?

Now all of these paints have come out thin, my fault for buying the cheapest. But this white "paint" was lying to my face. It was more of a thin glaze, the consistency and opaqueness resembling that warm icing you drizzle on cinnamon rolls. Also a consistency that has unreasonably always grossed me out. No matter how much I stirred it was definitely not the "Paint and Primer" the label disguised itself as.

The thin yellow paint next to the thin lying white paint.

So my plan for starting the blue window was foiled. Not ready to stop for the day, I searched through my painting bag and luckily found two blue paint samples. I decided I might as well get one layer of paint on the blue window and the indigo window then buy better paint for their final layer the next day. I mixed up the two pretty colors that I could with my rag tag army of paints on hand and began the first layers. To my disappointment the blue window's first layer was even thinner and patchier than the other windows were. But it will get covered better the next time, so I tried not to be bothered by it and moved on to the indigo window.

Day five was a day full of lessons learned. Actually this past week was. Now, being told the paint you bought was "Paint and Primer", which turned out to be untrue doesn't seem like a big setback to push through. Because it's not. It's a small inconvenience. But it does add up. It starts to take a toll on you mentally when you're constantly being told you can't do something. "Being a freelance artist is stupid, you're a girl, you're too young, you don't have enough money" and other ridiculously rude comments to make to a human being.

This past week I was treated like a child by a number of "authority" figures. I was lied to because I look young and that means you're naive. I was then lectured by a manager trying to teach me a lesson after their employee was the one that lied to me (DO NOT GO TO ANDY MOHR. Said liars work there.) I was questioned about the work I was doing because I look too young (I paint at a high school and the director thinks I'm a student). I painted at a middle school last week and the office lady radioed the maintenance man to let me in: "The little girl from HCT is here." The little girl. Coming from a woman who works in a MIDDLE SCHOOL. The men at Lowe's who sold me the paint never taking the time to understand that I could be working on a large project and getting me the proper tools. No, I am not in high school. I am 24 years old and I know what I'm doing.

Day Five wrap up:

4 windows ready for the next step

2 windows with one (crappy) first layer

1 window still unpainted

1 can of NOT white paint

1 rant from me

0 coffee because it was rent week and yes, I am poor.

But 1 motivated girl.