Embrace Creativity

Channel your inner creative self

By Sierra Baumgartner

Edited by Scout Duncan

Illustration by James Subler

Layout by Shaelyn Thomas

When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you do?

Most people would probably answer with “check my phone.” It just makes sense, right? Many people set their alarms on their phones so they are already on their phone to turn the alarm off, and then they might as well check on their social medias while they’re at it.

Two hours later, and they find themselves still lying in bed scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.

How do you normally end your day?

Not everyone, but many people usually end their days by watching TV, or at least watch TV once at some point during the day. We always promise ourselves: “just one episode, that’s it...”

Half a season of The Office later, and Netflix is asking “Are you still watching?”

Somewhere along the way, screens started consuming our lives. Cell phones at one point were only used for communication purposes like calling and texting, and TV did not always take up such a huge chunk of the day. Now, we spend hours at a time consuming amusement through screens. We are constantly being fed so many different sources of entertainment, that life outside of our phones and TV shows almost seems boring. What started out as a harmless pastime has turned a time-wasting black hole that many get lost in simply because they think they have nothing better to do.

But what if you had something better to do?

Instead of scrolling for hours or binging The Office, what if there was something that made you excited to turn the screens off? Something that inspired you to be creative? There are so many unique passions and hobbies—so many things to do in the world that require us to imagine and create. Watching TV and staring at a phone screen rarely, if ever, leaves anyone feeling satisfied or productive. What if instead, we exerted our energy and time doing something creative that left us satCisfied with how we’ve spent our time and overwhelmed with pride of our accomplishments? Build things, paint things, write things, sew things... do all of the things! It’s time to collectively look up from our phones, turn off our TVs, and start embracing creativity.

The greatest part about creativity is that it has no rules. There is no script to follow (instead, write a script for a play), No mold to fit into (make your own cement mold—maybe build a sculpture), and there is no “picture perfect” way to go about creativity (but you can take some pictures with a camera, or paint one). Creativity is what you make it—and you can make it anything.

No, seriously—Anything! The first step to channeling your creativity is trying something new, which is the same thing that holds people back from creativity. Trying something new can be scary at first, but another great aspect creativity is that it’s okay to fail. In fact, it’s almost necessary to fail in order to succeed. Take a pottery wheel, for example. This is a fun, creative hobby, but it may be very challenging at first. If the clay falls off the wheel or caves in a few dozen times, that’s alright! As long as you continue trying new things, you will find what you love the most. According to invaluble.com, the author of the Harry Potter books—JK Rowling, was turned away from twelve different publishing houses before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was published. Vincent Van Gough only sold one painting in his lifetime, but finished almost a thousand different works. You do not have to make millions of dollars on a book you’ve written or paint a thousand paintings, but these people and many others are proof that failure may be the first step (or the first fifty steps) to having a success in creativity.

Even if failure finds you many times before you succeed, if you find something you are passionate about and have fun doing it, it is never a waste of time. Creativity makes us better human beings. It makes us imagine, dream, and set goals for ourselves. And, if you’re lucky enough, you can make a career out of your creative passions, like Leonardo Da Vinci, Andy Warhol, The Beatles, Walt Disney, Stephen Spielberg, Suzanne Collins, and millions more. You don’t have to be famous, but you shouldn’t give up on finding your creative passion.

Instead of scrolling for hours or binging TV shows, what if there was something that made you excited to turn the screens off? It’s time to find what you love to do and let it be your motivator. You don’t have to be a professional at creativity; you don’t even have to be good at whatever it is you choose to do. You simply have to not be afraid to try new things, not be afraid to fail, and not give up until you find your creative inspiration. It’s time to embrace creativity.