Creativity and collaboration

So this term I am taking a nice course load. Chem 5(ew), which is a pre engs/med weeder course that I will be trying to float in, computer coding for engineers, which seems really cool, and coco 8. Coco stands for college course. This coco class is awesome in particular. It focuses on creativity and collaboration in both theater and life. The first section we focus on is movement, then music, then lighting. I can’t wait to find out what it will entail, but for this week we just dicussed creativity. We wrote a reflection, and I thought that I would share it with y’all.

Creativity is a risk. When you dare to make something up, you are daring to make mistakes, show your imperfections and embarrass yourself - if only to yourself. If you draw, you risk that chance of someone looking over your shoulder and peeking into your soul. If you write, you risk people assuming that every word is a mirror image of your true intentions and feelings – like a window to your true psyche. If you dabble on the side of invention, you risk exposing that you are not unique, that your ideas are mundane, that you are only a pawn in the game of life, not the player.

            It is funny how creative people are tagged as insular and sometimes overly thoughtful. You always hear about the person who hides away in their studio or wood shop, only to emerge with a piece of beauty. The thought is that maybe these people are insecure, that they have something to prove, but I believe that it is the very opposite. These people don’t have something to prove. No. They have something to provide. They see the world as imperfect. A pessimist you may say, but no. They see the world as imperfect and furthermore believe, stupidly or not, that they can do it justice. They can make people see the important stuff, or fix the problems, or show things in a better light. They don’t just settle for the world they live in. Neither can these people be insecure. These people have a drive that is beyond security or insecurity, they need to improve, create, learn. Because of their view on the world, their drive and their willingness to take the risk, most creative people are not insecure or insular, but just can’t see how or why people can settle for the world just through one lens.

            Collaboration is also a risk. It is the risk of being creative compounded by the risk of criticism. To be good, all members of the collaboration need to take the risk of being criticized without taking offense, and also to criticize without second thoughts. To be successful, the criticisms need to not act as fire extinguishers, but as fuel for creativity. This last part is the hardest to master. It is the difference between getting the job done and having that amazing energized, did that just happen - ?! - feeling. There is no set formula that can get you from good to great; ask any competitive athlete. These successful collaborations are truly rare - think Declaration of Independence, but there is a whole scale of collaboration, from one-person-does-all-the-work failures to perfect. The difference between the two usually includes some real blood sweat and tears (sometimes even real blood) that leads to real respect. Real collaborations require real respect and neither of those things come easy or synthetically.