My Creative Journey
Part 1
There’s a moment when an artist or writer stares at a blank page or canvas, where he or she sees their vision before it is made. It’s a moment that can never be fully transcribed into words, never fully encapsulated in pictures and paintings. It is this perfectionism, this resolve to exactly replicate the treasures in our minds that drives young creatives; this raw attempt to show another exactly what they see — as if the words are saying, “Do you get what I’m trying to say?”
But with time, we realize this is not the way.
We learn of the connections shared between the creative and the reader. It’s when our work comes to stand for something greater than ourselves. It can be through personal anecdotes. It can be through social topics. Whatever it is, we can always reach into the mind of a reader, and grab their heart instead. They could love it, or they could hate it, no matter what, it’s still a feeling — no, not one you sparked inside them, but one they turned on all by themselves.
A good creative learns to touch the vision laying within the mind of the beholder. I like to do this by leaving some holes for the mind to fill in, valuing what I don’t say as much as what I do. As many would put it: “Less is more.”
Though it took me some time to learn this, (around two years,) ironically enough, my very first poem encapsulates this notion rather perfectly. The first poem I ever wrote was as simple as you could make it. A classic rhyming poem ready for just about anybody who wandered its way, it’s called “Make The Most of Every Day.” I simply wrote, “Make the most of every day.” About ten seconds later, my hands jumped back to the keys; “The time you have don’t waste away.” Within another second, the next line popped into my mind, and with this line, I knew, I was meant for this; the joy that filled the pours of my skin making goosebumps, and the passion coursing my veins like adrenaline were something I had never felt, especially sitting down: “The months go by, March, April, May,”
“And you have the choice to go any which way…”
I never said what they could do, I never pointed out any one dream. I let them put themselves within the narrative. What every person imagines hearing this poem is unique and special. Personally, I imagine you reading that poem and leaving with a smile of inspiration — one that speaks for itself — and it says “I’m ready to seize the day.” Then again, it’s not about my vision, is it? I’ve already brought that to life, it’s about the vision inside you.
