While growing up, I always thought I wasn't a very creative person. I couldn't paint, draw, or do things in a unique way. I always did things by the book. I used to love playing with LEGOs or the more obscure K'NEX when I was a kid. I would build huge replicas of things, and whatnot. However, I always followed the books piece by piece. It would bother me more than anything when somebody would ignore the instructions and build something different.
Many people would look at my way of doing things and say I was not a creative child. I believe that creativity is a word that has a very broad definition. A musician who composes a musical masterpiece is most certainly creative. But is the artist who takes parts of those masterpieces and converts them into something different and unique to them not creative as well?
Lately I have invested much of my time playing a computer game called Minecraft with my friends. If you've never heard of it, starting a game creates a randomly generated, infinitely large world composed of billions of blocks. You can collect these blocks, mine to get more rare metals and minerals, and even craft tools out of them. With the blocks you collect, you can create almost anything you and your friends can come up with. I have built a castle with a lava mote, a house on stilts in the sky with a trapdoor that drops you into the lake below, and even a sky scraping lighthouse made entirely of glass.
Playing Minecraft has revealed hidden creative talents in millions of people. I believe that many people are extremely creative, but they have no idea because of the generalized definitions of the word "creative". Creativity is extremely important for writing, and I think that everyone in our class is creative just because of the many examples of papers I have read.
What do you think?
I think creativity is very important in an essay because it makes the essay your own. I would never have the time build any of those LEGO structures because it takes too much time in my opinion. But you do need creativity to be able to build them. It's good that you have a passion for it because it will help develop your creativity.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the definition of creativity is very broad. I think many people are creative in different ways. Obviously there is a general definition that most people fit into but I think people can be creative in more obscure ways too. When I was little, I would play The Sims for hours. That is what legos and mindcraft remind me of. I think these games really allow us all to think outside the box. In this class it is important to not go by the book. Ms. Ahmed said a few weeks ago not to use cliches because they are too generic. It is important to stand out and be original.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the same page with you that creativity has a very broad definition. I also built LEGO's when i was little except i not only followed the instructions, but created my own too. I love music and writing and i feel i am creative in both. Being creative in your own way is important for writing. Putting parts of a paper that only you can add is so important because it does make it your own masterpiece.
ReplyDeleteI loved legos when I was younger. I thought the were the most fascinating thing. I, too, followed the instructions to a T simply because I wanted the product that I bought. Legos gave me the ability to create my own fun at times too. I'd completely disassemble and mix and match pieces to get my own creations too. And Minecraft is something my friends love too. It's practically the same concept as legos, you create your own fun. It's not very often that we're given a world without restriction such as Minecraft, so I think it's creative. It's honestly subject to the individual as far as what they think is creative. After all, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.
ReplyDeleteI was the most uncreative child in the world. My whole family was. My science projects were always the worst. Also, anytime we had to make something for class mine would always be that really bad one. When I started dancing, I really got in touch with my creative side. Now that I’m older, I think that helps too. I have seen and experienced much more so it’s easier for me to put ideas together in my head. Now I'm just really creative and I come up with crazy ideas that usually work. I use it a lot when I'm event planning. I love coming up with ideas to solve problems and stuff. Every time I'm organizing a charity event I always come up with really good ideas to incorporate. I guess my creative side is just blooming.
ReplyDeleteI too believe that the definition of creativity is very broad. I was always very creative as a child though. When I was in fist grade I began collecting shoe boxes and making animal families and pasting them in there. For example, I would draw pigs, cut them out, and paste them in the shoe box. I would also draw beds, food, and furniture. I also remember taking eggs out of the fridge and decorating them and making them into people. I would keep them in an egg crate and carry them around the mall!
ReplyDeleteThere are times when I am creative and times when I am not. Sometimes I can't be creative unless something or someone sparks my imagination. I agree that in order to be a good writer creativity is needed. Everyone has a different style of writing which makes us all creative. In class when everyone reads their journal entries sometimes I feel like mine are not as creative. Then I realize that we just all have different styles. Just because you followed the instructions for LEGO doesn't mean that you aren't creative. There are times when I can't come up with ideas for things but that doesn't mean I'm not creative. I just can't think of ideas as quick as others can.
ReplyDeleteI think creativity has many different definitions. A person could be a creative event planner and another person could create amazing buildings. Then there are always the artistic people that are gifted with things like a paint brush. I was never one of those people. I could come up with a great idea but making it happen was always my challenge. I think that everyone is creative in their own way. Some people are just better at using their creativity.
ReplyDeleteI used to build using Lincoln Logs! Those were the days. When I was younger my sister, and my cousin would get together and we would build a house or a school or something like that with the Lincoln Logs. Sometimes we would follow the instructions exactly and sometimes we would just build however and whatever we wished. Although we some of the logs went missing it became increasingly difficult to be creative with our builds and so we eventually stopped. But no matter how we made the houses or schools we always used our imaginations. Creativity can be found in numerous places and there is no way anyone can pinpoint it on one thing. I think my cousin is very creative simply because she has a crazy imagination. I admire her for that, but that does not mean that I am not equally creative, just in a different way.
ReplyDeleteI was the exact opposite with leggos growing up. I would get them and instantly throw out the directions. I felt like I could build something better i my mind; something that couldnt exist in the real world; something that defied definition. Its actually kind of amazing what kind of structures you can create in you;re mind and then build. I also agree that creativity is not just creating something out of nothing. It takes a creative mind to rearrange and reorganize something to make it unique.
ReplyDeleteYeah, creativity is definitely an odd thing! Also, a bit off topic but I would always try to follow the directions but then would get really angry when I couldn’t find the one lego piece I was looking for. I would then throw a tantrum, break my lego, and leave the scene a mess. For some reason my mom and dad stopped getting me lego’s. I’m still trying to piece that one together. But anyways, this is a very good point. Creativity can be manifested in so many different ways, you can’t just declare one person creative and another not. Everyone has that creativity, but it also does seem like it takes some people more to access it than others. To some people the world is just black and white, but to others there are all the shades in the middle. It’s just all about getting those who see in black and white to seeing the whole spectrum.
ReplyDeleteI think creativity is up to the person. I don't think it has a set rule. I believe everyone in their own way is creative, it doesn't mean just because you can't draw well you aren't creative...I agree when you said that a musician who creates a masterpiece is creative but yes, the person who takes that piece and makes it their own is also creative. Even though they're taking someone else's idea, they're still using their mind to create something different! In reference to lego's, I can't really relate because I never would play with them unless I played with my brothers...barbies is where it was at! lol.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Everyone is creative in their own ways. Especially with writing. Everyone has their own particular writing style. It is interesting to read all the different styles and ways our class uses to describe the same subject. I really enjoy listening to all the journals. Hearing everyone have one topic and to hear twenty different views and stories on it, is really remarkable. Everyone has a creative mind it just takes time to discover it.
ReplyDeleteWell I don't know anything about Minecraft but I like that you said it brought out the creative side of you, you didn't know you had. This reminded me of when I had to take an art class in school. I am not very patient and have never been a good artist. With a little instruction I actually ended up drawing a really detailed faced of a dog. I am so proud of myself because here I though I couldn't even do a stick figure and with a little effort I was able to create something really cool.
ReplyDeleteI believe everyone has their own definition of creativity. To me, creativity is simply ones ability to express themselves in their own way. when i used to play with LEGOS i would never follow instructions, i liked creating my own structures. With writing, creativity starts with ideas, topics, descriptions, ways of telling a story, characters etc. everyone has some sort of creative gift!
ReplyDeleteI believe that everyone is creative in their own unique way. I also think that society forces us to think of creativity only in a certain way. I think that we should be more open to different definitions of creativity. For example making your own world in minecraft is not creative in the traditional sense. However I think that it should be considered creative. As for writing creativity takes an important role. A paper without creativity is a pain to read. Creativity in writing is essential.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has their own views of what is creativity and what is not. Personally I don't see myself as a very creative person, but I have friends who see me as creative. Maybe not extremely creative but at least creative. I took a pottery class for four years in high school and my fourth year I had improved a lot. All of my friends thought what I created was really cool and good, but I personally thought otherwise. I mean yes I noticed that I was a little bit better than other students in my class, but I thought I could do much better. As a child I don't think I was really seen as creative either because like you said, I couldn't think of anything to create on my own. I always used ideas that were given to me rather than thinking of my own ideas.
ReplyDeleteCreativity is whatever you want it to be. I used to think that it was only in art work and things like that for a long time when i was a little kid. Then i found that there can be art in anything. It is all just a matter of how you look at things. Because it's my personal interests i find the most creativity in cars, engines, airboats, and anything that is engineered out of nothing. So as long as you are interested in it, i am sure you can find creativity in it somewhere.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and his brother play that game and always show me the 'cool' things they build with those blocks. So i completely understand what you are saying. I too believe that creativity is a broad term. Everyone is creative in their own way. Some more than others. There is no right definition of creativeness.
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