making creative space

how do you give yourself the space necessary to create?

the trick to being creative is not trying to be creative. that is probably why classes that ask me to churn out writing piece after writing piece are, in fact, not where my best creative work comes from. (it is also why this post is probably going to be mostly a flop). it is the unassigned musing and self reflection that allows for the best, most complete and whole-hearted creativity.

i don’t give myself time to be creative. it isn’t something i can schedule into my day after my 9am workout and before my 11:30 class. “today, i will be creative from 9:30–10:30"…definitely not.

i guarantee if i gave you a piece of my writing you could tell if i cared about the topic after reading the first paragraph. sure, i can eventually write a ten page paper about the literary discourses in huckleberry finn, but to be honest i disliked reading that book in the first place so even though i might get an A, every word was a struggle. Ask me to do a self reflection on the word “discipline” and i can write those ten pages in record time and enjoy every minute of it.

i remind myself that no writing is “bad writing” if it leads me somewhere else. what makes writing bad is when i leave it on the page, never to be looked at or considered again.

i don’t find time to be creative. creativity finds me. it is in the random part of a conversation i overhear from the person talking to their mom on the phone next to me. it comes from the picture i just found on pinterest or instagram. it comes from the rush of love and excitement i feel when my little sister gets off the airplane to hang out with my brother and i for her week of spring break. it is in the heartbreak and disappointment, the joy and the laughter.

creativity is the view from the top of stowe pinnacle and the rush of jumping off something a little bit too high or standing too close to the edge. it comes from within you when you are least looking for it.