Creativity

Tonight as I was walking home, I passed one of the stores owned by a local family I know. Seeing the family inside of the store, I thought to myself, Do I want to stop and talk for 5-10 minutes, or continue on to the grocery store? (Trust me, these types of things are difficult to assess after a long day of walking...).

Well, my good-natured side won.. I stopped. Or more so, Zeina, the older sister, lured me in with her huge smile and her big eyes full of excitement. She had something to show me: her new laptop.

Now, you may be asking yourself, "Wait, how old is this child?! Her new laptop??..." Now, I must warn you: Before you throw a lot of questions my way, read on..

Zeina had in her hand, her new, thin, Apple laptop.

Made of cardboard (she had drawn the Mac logo on top).

That's right. She constructed it all by herself. No Steve Jobs had to tell her what to do. She had all of the functioning keys written out for the keyboard as well as the latest Mario level she had conquered plastered onto the screen. She is, your average, every-day inventor. Nothing is out of reach. Nothing seems crazy. Everything is worth trying, worth creating.

You say, "Hey, do you want to make a laptop today?" and Zeina does not respond with, "Wow. That's a stupid idea...You can't make that..." No sir-ee, Zeina leaps into all of the materials she deems fit for such a task without even asking for more detailed instructions.

Now, I walk away from this interaction pleased but yet, perplexed.

Have I lost my childhood ability to dream + create?

I sure hope not.

I know that teaching has its demands. It takes a lot of time to plan, to grade, and to set a good example to my students. But, I really hope I'm inspiring them.. and allowing them to inspire me. I hope that I am not turning away from ideas that inspire creativity because of my fear of failure. Opposition. Or, the lie of having a "lack of time."

Whatever it is, I hope I always say, "Yes. Let's create something today..."

Life's less bland that way.