136. First of all, I think you should know I’m a really fun person. Energetic, out going, likes long walks on the beach, blah blah blah… I’m also a risk taker. Which, I think, is important for being creative. If you are too afraid to branch out into new places, how are you ever going to know your limits? Maybe…. There are NONE!
137. In the 12 th grade, I was a little restless. Which is probably a bad year to choose to be restless. I was anxious for what may lay ahead after school and at the same time didn’t want it to end. On one particular English assignment I had to do about the (booorrrring) book The Pride and Prejudice , I decided that I was not going to do the regular old projects everyone else was doing. While the rest of my class were writing a summary of a scene, or writing a letter, or making a lame song playlist, I convinced my group into making a video. Now this wasn’t going to be any normal video, it was going to be a music video. And not just any normal music video, but a rap music video …about The Pride and Prejudice.
138. The beautiful disaster that was our project can be viewed in it’s entirety (plus some bloopers at the end) here on YouTube: http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =Y2z-MjyaNzA Makes me cringe every time. The teacher loved it. We ended up getting one of the best marks in the class (there were apparently some factual errors, whatever) and I still to this day have not read The Pride and Prejudice.
139. Creativity has been a big part of my life, but it definitely has changed throughout. I was much more creative when I was younger. It had to do with not having as many boundaries, and especially not fearing drawing outside the lines. For example,
140. In junior high, my friends and I wanted to make a comic book. It started off really well. We got together all the time and drew really cool dudes. Evidence -> However, we thought that comics were all about cool dudes, but there was story to be told as well. No one could agree on what to write. We ended up having scribblers full of just characters. I ended up losing interest and stopped altogether. Now, I can barely draw stick people. It’s kind of sad really.
141. This only proves another thing: Creativity requires focus and a goal. It’s fun to have no limits but it will be hard to achieve anything without them. Right, Mr. Stick? Whatever uncool dude, you hung me a couple of slides ago. Traitor.
142. Don't worry, our story doesn't end there… A little later in my life, I took a liking to photography and travelling (yeah, like who wouldn't). Everywhere I went – locally, nationally, internationally – I brought along what ever camera I owned at the time. I started my own personal gallery of photos and over time I could see myself getting better with my selections. It acted as a timeline where I could see my mistakes or poor judgement and how it has become almost natural now to fix them.
143. Here are some of the things I have captured. (I'm still waiting for my Pulitzer prize, or Time Magazine's Person of the Year Award, or whatever the prize for King photographer of the world is called. (Please know I'm kidding, I'm not actually thhhhhhaaaattt much of an egomaniac))
