Encouraging Autonomy and Flexibility

 When I think of the word creativity, I don't think of work that has been assigned to me. I don't think about the the weight of responsibilities I have to carry on my back. And, I don't think about or feel pressured by essentially a list of things I need to accomplish in order to make it by in life. In fact, I haven't thought about creativity in a long time. Lately, there is no time to wonder about my creative capacity; there is no opportunity; there is no space for creativity... and many other things for that matter.

Junior year is slowly beginning to feel real (Sorry if that stresses you out; it stresses me out writing it). There's already been APUSH quizzes pretty much every day of the week, and the unit is drawing to a close. Other classes are moving along as well with exams and homework, and the deadline for many club fees and the first PSAT of the year is coming up soon. Some of us are in sports, music, arts, other extracurricular activities, or have a job as well as obligations and maybe issues with family or friends, and life is doing what it does and not stopping. Before this assignment, were many of us sitting and wondering about creativity?

In this New York Times "Room for Debate" discussion on "Is Creativity Endangered?", I agreed with some points made by Cecilia Conrad on our society in relation to creativity and innovation. She explains how "creativity flourishes at the intersections of traditional disciplines," and the way our society is structured deprives individuals of both these things greatly. The American education system is centralized around grades, numbers, and performing on tests. The adult employed life is focused on meeting deadlines and constantly completing tasks commanded by their chain of bosses. Conrad explains how such a system "marginalize[s] individuals... [and] American society's reward structures tend to discourage unconventional thinking and limit risk taking." The commonly known road to success is first you work hard in school, then you work hard in college, and then you work hard at your job. She goes on to explain how the best environment for creativity is one that "gives the individual autonomy and flexibility," and noteworthy is that the importance of creativity lies in shaping generations so that they may contribute to making the world a better place through "economic competitiveness, solving deep-rooted social problems and... creating objects of beauty that inspire."

It is understood that creativity comes from within, and it is further understood that people need a time and space to reflect, experience, and be introspective. Our culture lives in a world where the concept of productivity revolves around working all the time. Often we romanticize the idea of working so hard and ambitiously for success that we outdo and burn ourselves out. Making a living out of hard work is a theme of the American Dream. However, with no time for solitude or a space for retrospection, spontaneity, or innovation, we do lose something that is also part of that dream. We put ourselves in a box and limit greatly our capacity for true productivity, and we often lose sight of other important things striving so ardently. Even as many of us aren't necessarily striving, we are still required to meet the demands of life everyday.

If I can make an analogy, giving more opportunity for society to be creative is like allowing a son or daughter more autonomy. If you allow them more freedom to experience, live, and walk on their own, they'll discover new ideas, develop new views, perspectives, and ways of thinking, and they will grow to reach new, unbelievable heights.

Tabby Verayo