Facets of Faith: the lifelong struggle for creativity

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Hanl Brown

Staff reporter Faith Brocke expresses her emotions and experiences in her column, Facets of Faith.

Faith Brocke, Staff Reporter

As someone who has a myriad of thoughts on demand at nearly any point in time, I can’t accurately describe myself as anything but imaginative, which is why it’s so crazy to think that there are people who can’t conjure an original fairytale instantaneously.

Some people don’t find themselves to be creative enough, especially as they get older and are forced into ‘the real world’ to deal with ‘real world problems.’ Asking a kindergartener and a 50 year old accountant to tell you a fun little fictional falsehood is like asking a spelling bee champion and a three month old baby to spell ‘antidisestablishmentarianism’ respectively.

It’s frightening to think about, if I’m honest.

When I’m older, and busier, and more grounded in reality, will I have trouble with coming up with storylines and scenarios? Will my ability to create new characters and draw from fantasy worlds disintegrate into ash? Can I ever get that back?

And then I realize how silly that is.

Yes, it’s true, adults tend to think more logically than creatively, but that doesn’t mean you just stop being amazing when you grow up.

I’m a writer at heart, I’ve been writing my whole life, and I don’t plan on stopping. 

And even if you’re not like me, there are plenty of ways to stay in tune with your imaginative side by immersing yourself in old favorites and coaxing little details out of the recesses of your mind.

Take for example: storyboard artists, animators and writers of cartoons. They create limitless storylines designed to capture the attention of kids everywhere, and you have to be at least 18 to work on any set in any of these professions!

My mom was recently reintroduced to her childhood creativity after her trip to her homeland, of Accra, Ghana. She came back with notebooks filled to the brim with scribbles, drafts for written pieces, and a dozen fabrics. She recalled legends and myths she hadn’t heard in years. Inspiration and creativity go hand in hand, and my mom turns 50 on Oct. 30. Her age has nothing to do with her ability to create, and neither does yours or mine.

Everyone has the potential, it’s a matter of how you unlock it, old or young.