Creativity Challenge

I am now officially a teacher and a graduate student. I teach English, Creative Writing and Theatre for middle and high school students and I am myself studying to earn a MFA in Creative Writing. Pretty intense...

I love my job and I love the fact that I'm studying what I love the most...stories. It is why I do theatre, why I love books...I'm in love with stories. This love affair has been going on since I can remember. The part I love the most is the opportunity to create...to be creative.

Creativity is something I encourage in all of my students and something I strive for in myself. It is not easy...there are times when I would much rather use a cliche than think of something fresh, but that does not accomplish anything productive. I encourage you to step off the path of monotony and find something that sparks your creative side.

"But I'm not an artist." You may say.

No problem.

Being a creative person means to step outside of routine and find something that challenges you. Cook a new recipe, mix and match things in your closet for a new look, sit outside with a cold beverage and read a book, flip through a magazine and take mental note of things you like.

Something I recently did was take up singing lessons. Singing has always fascinated me but I was afraid to explore it because it did not come easily to me. I thought I had a bad voice or that I couldn't achieve a goal of being able to sing in public. I'm beginning to realize that my fears were holding me back from a wonderful creative outlet. Granted, I'm not going to be belting out an aria any time soon, but I'm working at it, I'm challenging myself. :-)

That is my challenge to you this week. Find something that sparks your interest...be it a forgotten hobby, a skill you've always wanted to explore or simply some quiet time devoted to a favorite activity...and enjoy. Simply enjoy. You'll find that being creative...challenging yourself is an amazing experience.

Let me know how it turns out! I invite you to post your story in the comment box! :-)

Can't wait to hear from you!

Until next time --

A.

The Wolf

I love this picture. I found it while using "stumbleupon.com"

White winter sun.

Rich. Chocolate. Amber. Gold. Peace.

Warmth fills barren air.

Starting Fresh

I haven't kept a blog for quite some time, probably over a year now, but I wanted to rejoin the world of "blogging" for a bit. I'm on a journey, a journey of discovery. Now, I fully expect that this journey will take me through the rest of my life, but that's not the point. The point is to take a day at a time, a moment at a time if you will. I want to truly learn to enjoy life, to be content and to not let the fear of the unknown or the fear of what "might" happen keep holding me back.

So what am I doing with this little piece of cyber space? Well, first of all I will say what I am *not* doing:
This blog is not going to be my "diary" or a place to expose raw emotion. That's right, no emotionally charged poetry about how life is a swirling vortex of shadows and confusion...(insert audience sigh of relief here)

But enough of the negative, let's move towards the affirmative:

This blog will be a place of creativity where my exploits in the world of fine arts will be explored. I am an actress, a director, a movie buff, an avid book worm, a new teacher, an aspiring musician, a storyteller, a writer, and someone who loves the endless possibilities that go along with being creative through the arts.

It will be a place that I hope will be a source of inspiration and creativity to anyone who happens upon my little nook of the web.

I will try to write as often as I can, hopefully get a pattern going soon.

I guess what I'm trying to say is...
Hi.
Now let's go from there.