Why so serious?

I’m always so amazed by musicians who are able to put into poetry the complex feelings we carry in our day to day lives. As I sit here in front of my Mac, trying to get the words down, I feel cheated by Apple’s promise that creativity can flow so easily as long as you’ve got the right tools. I’m staring blank at my 27 inch screen and I can’t seem to translate my thoughts into words, let alone written words. Maybe it’s because words don’t affect me as much as actions. I’ve always found myself to be a melody over lyrics kind of gal, sounds over words.

Recently I’ve really soaked into the idea that you shouldn’t take yourself so seriously. I believe in this so much because I’m realizing so many of my friends, colleagues, and myself included who are entering the dreaded ‘real world’ in just less than a few years, can’t seem to rekindle that joy of creating that fuelled the fire to help them get to where they are now. I know this is a struggle that almost every art and design student finds themselves fighting with, and possibly this is one reason why; I find that going to an art and design school, it’s hard to find inspiration in what’s already created. It’s like trying to come up with the lyrics for a new song by listening to another one. We pine at a project, over a fight with a friend, at feeling disappointed at ourselves even, at home, at our desks, in front of our computers, staring at our oversized monitor screens, demanding an answer from it, when there is a whole outside world just waiting to hand you a little piece of mind. Maybe you won’t get the answer you were looking for, but at least you will find a little peace, maybe a breath of fresh air, knowing there are always bigger things in life than what you’re stressing over. I’m not saying go on that expensive rooftop you pay with your rent,  glance at the millions of twinkly lights below, and breathe in that city air–that shit’s pretty cliché (not saying I’ve never done this..). I mean, maybe you should put aside the worries you’ve created yourself and just do the things you always said you would do when you grew up. If that means going on a rooftop, then hey, fucking do it (I did..). If that means making a blog and writing about it so that someone else in the vista of the virtual world can find some truth in it and feel OK about everything for just a moment, then hey, fucking do it (Doing it!). You just gotta learn to make fun of yourself and make fun of life sometimes.

You are younger than you are living your life as, so maybe you should quit labelling yourself as a “creative individual”, an excuse that stands in between yourself and that true fun you once used to feel, and just allow that identity to become the result of your enjoyment for life.