April 1, 2013

Ninety-One


Day Ninety One:  Relationships

I have involuntarily decided to write this week on my relationship with university, creativity, and working academically. It has gotten me thinking about how I am drivn to do the work that needs to get done for my coursework, and although I’d love to provide somekey element to my motivation I cannot.  Especially at the moment where everything associated with motivation escapes me, but also in the grand scheme of a semester.  How do I write a paper in one night?  How do I have a schedule for my readings?  I just do it, it comes from somewhere, but I’m not sure where.

Not being in a creative-based degree (for English anyway, theatre there is a bit more leniency) I find myself trying to be creative at every moment that I can.  The following link is to a particularly interesting TedTalks on inner creativity, it got me thinking of things today.


I want to say that for the most part I agree with her, that creativity comes from inspiration that I don’t experience elsewhere, but I do not go looking for it somewhere.  When writing a poem or a script I look inside myself, I look for that thundering something to pass through me and it does.  That’s something I’ve been warming up to within Yoga:  to look for answers in myself.

But academically I have to just accept that I put in the effort, I show up, and sometimes the rest follows and other times it’s tardy.  If I am stuck on idea’s I go for a walk and the fresh air clears my thoughts.  This works for other things too but most productively helps with focus and clarity when it comes to academic things.  I have to be open to the fresh air clearing my head, but if I let it it just all becomes clear.  Those moments are the best kind, because I finally feel smart, and that’s been happening a lot this semester.

So what is so good about all of this?  I think it’s the realisation of what helps and having strategies, and not hating what I am working on.  Projects are meant to be enjoyed for the most part and so letting myself enjoy them is key for me to feel like I’m doing well.  I love learning, but sometimes I feel so oppressed in this institution because I am not usually complimented on the way that I learn, or allowed to show that in a natural way.  Presentations?  Practicals?  I can do it.  It’s the writing bit, the part that I even enjoy, that gets me down.

And I know that, accept it, and move on.  I love the learning, I do actually enjoy the classes, the discussions, because there is opportunity to let creativity in, to let idea’s form and develop, but it’s something about the way when it comes to projects that I have to organise the idea’s on the shelves of my mind and allow that fresh air to pick and choose what order, and how to word things.  It’s very magical, I wish things worked like that before my eyes and not in my head.  There are a lot of things I wish worked in such a way.

I was hoping this would come out so much more profound and intelligent, but it came out the way I’d write a paper:  sort of half as good as I’d wanted.  But what can I do?  This is me, and half the battle is accepting who you are and loving you anyway. 

x

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