"I was like you when I was younger, Jungkookie. I had a passion for art, just like you. Here's something I learned in my years of drawing, painting, and crafting." My mom looks at my crayon drawings that were hung around my bed.

"You won't feel like a real Artist, unless you make something that means everything to you. Something that....maybe others wouldn't see how special it is, but in your eyes, it's the world."

I hold up my painting of a flower. "I drew this picture. It means a lot to me, eomma."

She stares at the pictures and smiles. "Jungkookie, that picture is really amazing. You know what? I'll wait until later to give you this talk. You are still only 5 years old."

"Ok." I hug the picture and walk away.

Jungkook at Age 13

"Jungkookie, remember that talk with the artist thing when you were 5?" Mom sits down next to me on my bed.

I laugh. "That was 6 years ago, mom. But surprisingly, I never forgot."

She smiles and caresses my cheek. "That's nice."

"Mom? Can you explain more about it? I still don't understand."

"Of course. So, You aren't an artist unless you create something really meaningful to you. When people observe your drawings, they might see something normal, but to you...it has so much meaning behind it. It's like those random pictures on your phone that everyone tells you to delete, but you don't want to because it reminds you of a moment. A special moment."

"I draw meaningful drawings. I have my own box of crayons and oil pastels."

"Anybody could have a pencil and paper. It's just WHAT we draw and WHY we drew it."

"What?"

"So, you know mermaids? They aren't mermaids if they don't have a scaly tail. Not anyone could have a scaly tail like a mermaid. That's what makes a mermaid...special. They have different tails. Every famous artist probably have the same pencils or markers, but their creations are all different and they have a different story."

I tilt my head a little while thinking about my simple drawings.

"I don't care if it's poorly drawn or poorly designed. I don't care if it's the size of a skyscraper or the size of a hamster. As long as it makes you smile and remember something every time you just look at it. That's already the Perfect Picture. When others see your painting, they might see through a different lens than you and that's fine. For example, this is mine." Mom pulls out a framed picture from behind her and hands it to me.

"It's drawn with pencil only. A pitcher and a baseball." I observe.

She nods. "That's what you see and that's right. But when I look at this, I think about the time where your father and I met. It was at a ballpark and the ball came our way. I drew this a day before the wedding and I kept it with me for a long time. I look at it every time I'm feeling unmotivated. It makes me think, 'wow, if I can draw something that makes me so happy, I could draw something that can make others happy too'."

I gap in awe. "That's so cool!"

"Ye-" Mom's phone rings and she picks it up. "Oh, that's my work calling. Continue working hard, son. I believe you'll make it soon."

She ruffles my hair before leaving.

"I need the perfect picture." I whisper to myself.

I run to my closet and pull out an empty box. I start placing all my drawings inside the box.

"These drawings mean nothing to me. If anything, these are just doodles." I mumble quite sadly.

"If I'm going to fight for my future to become an Artist, I need to create the Perfect Picture."

I hide the box deep inside my closet and close it.

When Jungkook was 15

It's been two years since that last talk. It seems like a long time, but I really did keep myself busy.

I drew and drew and drew. Fruits, food, nature, buildings, and even clothing! Nothing...nothing gave me the happiness that was similar to what Mom explained.

Ugh! Am I not meant to be an artist!? Why can't I put my heart into drawing!? It's so frustrating.

My mom was working late and my dad was home early.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" I yell as I stomped down the stairs.

"Yes?! Are you ok?!" My dad yells in response.

"I'm fine, but I want to ask you something." I laugh and meet him in his work room.

"Sure, anything." He spins around on his spinny chair.

"Mom told me about her Perfect Picture. What's yours? Or are you still trying to find it?" I sit on his loveseat near him.

"Oh yes, she gave you that speech?"

I nod.

"Well, yes, I already have it." Dad opens his desk drawer and pulls out a similar framed drawing. He hands it to me.

"It's a drawing of sports equipment melting into...art supplies." I say while staring at the picture. "That's so cool, but you suck at sports. Why did you draw this?"

He scoffs."Wow, thanks. Well, when I first met your mother, I wasn't really into art. Actually I had nothing to do with it. I was more into sports."

I gasp. "Really? Wow!"

About a month ago, we were at a picnic and someone threw a football at him and he started karate chopping it.

Dad? Sports?

"2 weeks after dating, she started showing me all of her drawings, which were so stunning. She was absolutely talented, no joke." Dad plays around with his pencil while smiling. "She gave me a paper and pencil and said 'paint your mind, I'd like to see how it looks like on paper'. Before I knew it, I was obsessed with drawing."

I get a lot of feelz in my stomach that I wiggle around while giggling. "That's really cool."

My parents are goals. My parents are literally the definition of love.

"To sum up, I drew this because I love thinking about the fact that the love of my life created the passion of my life."

I was at a loss for words. Passion.

"Well, I have some work to do, Jungkookie. Mom will be home soon.' Dad kisses my head and I leave the room.

I head straight to my room and sit down in front of a piece of paper and pencil.

"I should draw love. A love that is similar to my parents. So simple! Duh, why didn't I think of that before!" I think out loud.

I start drawing and drawing and halfway through, I realize something.

"What the heck?" I hold up the paper and squint. "This looks more like me than my dad."

I start drawing my mom, but again, it didn't look like my mom.

Ok, either I can't draw humans or I can't draw my parents.

This is truly saddening.

Whatever it is, I'm not showing anyone. It's quite embarrassing that I can't even draw my own parents.

This makes me so frustrated.

I place the drawing inside the box without another thought and hide it.

And I never opened that box again since....