Postcard Swap

I have signed up for a postcard swap through one of my Gocco groups and I am a little apprehensive about the whole situation. Usually, I have done my own thing as an expression of my creativity. Ever since I opened up my own online store, I have had to think differently in terms of creating for the approval of others. What scares me is that now, with the postcard swap, is that I will be compared to the products that everyone else produces.

For those who don’t know, the way the system works is that you create a postcard and make copies for everyone that is participating. After all of the participants are finished by a pre-determined date, everyone swaps their products. In this case, there are 29 participants and everyone is making 58 postcards so that we can have two sets of each product—one to keep and one to send away if you so choose.

Not only will we be judged by the participants in the swap but also by the potential recipients of the postcards. What happens if no one likes my idea? What if people devalue my postcard in comparison to others? What if they return them and say—do it again, it doesn’t meet the artistic standards of everyone else?

I just don’t want to feel like the last person who gets chosen during gym class.