THE CREATIVITY RECONNECT BY SARA VANNER

Growing up and going through the education process, I now see that as each year progressed and I moved up in grade levels, I was chipping away at my inner child. As I grew older, I began to label “powerful” or “successful” people like those in a 9-5 office job, working forty hours a week, repeating this same week over and over. It is portrayed that way in films, and through what we are taught to pursue as children. Learning the standard math, English, language arts, etc. becomes redundant and burns us out.

This past year, I learned that my imagination and creativity innocence essentially was taught out of me in a way. And this is a process I would need to relearn and explore again. It felt uncomfortable at the age we are now to be “playing” as a learning tool. But it truly is, and it makes the experience of learning based on building connections and focuses on applauding failure and learning from these experiences.

I loved this year of reconnection, and I am sad that it came so late. If there is a way to change how we are wired as students to become almost robotic from the education system, I want to be a part of it. My idealistic image of a successful person has completely changed, and I am grateful for this. Anyone can be successful, these people don’t have to be accountants who got 1600 on their SAT.