“Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.”
― Rumi
Agreeing with Ken Robinson, I really do feel that everyone is born with creative ability and potential. Contrary to popular belief, creativity may include but is not limited to the arts. This includes things like dancing and painting. But what about people who stretch and idea further, people who create new ideas and improve old ones? Are they considered “creative”? And why are we even concerned with creativity?
This week’s readings and discussion
in class really opened my mind to a different view of creativity in that I learned
it is more of a way of thinking differently, not just making art. It is crucial
that we instill creativity in our daily lives because it is something awaken
new possibilities and also distinguish ourselves from the rest of the
population. For example, in today’s world, as Ken Robinson mentions, a degree
is not as flashy as it was before. Therefore, when going for a job interview
and competing with someone else who obtains the same credentials as you,
creativity is a way to define who you are and prove that you would be the
better candidate to hire. Also, I found interesting that failure was an
important part of the creative process which seemed completely backwards to me
at first. Our discussion in class pointed out that private failures are
essential so that you are constantly resetting and challenging your goals. Even
though failure altogether is painful, it can force us to take risks and test
new ideas. This is where the issue ascends in that we are so afraid to fail,
especially in the work force which completely negates failure that we end up
staying in our comfort zones and not taking many risks at all. This goes for
children at school too because it could be deterring the learning of creativity
and potential ideas could go unnoticed forever all because we don’t reward the
testing of new ideas enough. Is taking a risk part of creativity?
With all of this being said, when I
am faced with superior intelligence or talent, I try to fully engage myself and
have an open mind. These help me to hopefully become inspired and try to
connect with these people as much as possible, even if I think there is none. An
example of this is when Chris Herren came to speak at Southern. Other than
being a phenomenal speaker, his story was filled with tragedy, addiction, and
heart-break. Thankfully this is not what my life entails, but I was able to be
inspired by him, transform the way I see my capabilities and essentially
connect with his message. This also happened when Sonia Sotomayor came to
speak. I read her memoir over the summer and thought there was no way I could
connect with her but after listening to her speak, I had a stronger drive to accomplish
anything to the best of my ability, and to not let negativity bring me down. Inspiration
is the spring board to creativity and increases your well-being as mentioned in
the “Why Inspiration Matters” article.
The first creative moment I can
remember was in kindergarten when my parents had to attend school conferences
for my brother and me. I was home with a babysitter who wouldn’t entertain me
so I decided to come up with my own idea to pass the time. Strutting upstairs
to my room, I shut the door and carefully placed my stuffed animals in a few
rows. I then proceeded to take out some story books that I was capable of reading,
and also more difficult ones, and pretended that my room was a classroom and
the stuffed animals were my students. This not only helped to cure my boredom,
but also practiced my reading skills. My audience only included the inanimate
variety of bears, bunnies, pigs, and dolls, but it was the start of a new way
of thinking for me. Although a small glimpse of creativity, I was able to
improvise with the dreaded time that my parents left and invent a new activity
for myself.
How actually important is
creativity? Will children’s creativity continue to be destroyed or come alive
in the years ahead?
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