What I Am Passionate About

By Ayah Al-Ani

I remember the first time I picked up a paint brush. It was a mixed feeling of excitement and uncertainty, with a hint of curiosity. I recall my friend’s advice: “You got this!” After doing a quick YouTube search, I stumbled upon a Bob Ross winter landscape tutorial. I looked at my arsenal of artist supplies, picked up a brush, and placed my first stroke on the pearly, white canvas. Half an hour later, I found myself out of my painting trance with a good rendition of the Frozen Beauty in Vignette.

My passion for painting grew over time, as I often found myself gravitating towards my paint brushes every time I needed a meditative break. Furthermore, the more I painted, the more confident I became in my abilities to replicate progressively advanced paintings.

I also found that my passion has helped me grow in dental school. It has helped me become more patient, especially as I find myself learning new procedures in the lab. Like painting, I find that the dental lab is a continuous learning process, where the initial attempt is experimental, and the final product gradually improves after each consecutive attempt.

Painting has also helped me work on my hand skills. Coming into dental school with improved manual dexterity skills has helped me produce better work results and has given me more confidence in them. Thanks to painting, I am more appreciative of learning experiences.

When creating paintings, I enjoy paying attention to small details and the outline forms of shapes, which has been a rewarding process. Similarly, one of the focal points in dentistry is attention to detail. For instance, I paid attention to each of the tooth surfaces, contact points, and grooves when practicing teeth wax-ups during dental labs.

I believe that one improves in their pursuits with continuous effort and practice. My passion for painting and dentistry has shown me that one can improve in their pursuits with continuous effort and practice.