God made me a creative. I’m no better or worse than someone who isn’t. It is what it is. Lately I’ve been realizing creativity is a blessing and a curse. With the following list, I’ll try to explain.
BLESSING: You’re never lonely. As a creative, I’ve always got characters and stories in my head. Or a good book within arm’s reach.
CURSE: People might think you’re antisocial because you prefer to spend your time in a made-up world.
BLESSING: The more you use it, the more you get. Sometimes the words or ideas won’t come until I start writing. Anything.
CURSE: It’s an unpredictable gift. Case in point, when I should have been packing myself for the overnight trip to take the kids to their grandparents, I was engrossed in a new writing assignment, letting the words that have been lodged in my head flow freely at last. I’ve been jotting notes about this assignment for days, in between other activities because I can’t take the time I need to sit down and write for a long period of time.
BLESSING: Your kids will ask you for “imagination stories” to put them to sleep.
CURSE: You will sometimes put yourself to sleep with your stories.
BLESSING: You tend not to be satisfied with “the way things are” thinking that everything can be improved upon. (This may also be a curse.)
CURSE: You will fight the urge to answer respectable questions like, “Where are the kids?” with ridiculousness like, “We sold them to the circus.” Or “We traded them in for a new pair of shoes.” People will not always find this as funny as you mean it.
BLESSING: You can do what you love and get paid for it.
CURSE: People might think you’re flighty, ditzy or lazy because you work with words for fun and get paid for it.
BLESSING: Your friends will think you’re clever with your Facebook posts and tweets. (Or at least you hope they will.)
CURSE: You’ll think you’re much funnier than you really are.
BLESSING: You’ll need LOTS of alone time to hone your art.
CURSE: You won’t get it because you have two kiddos demanding your attention. All. The. Time.
BLESSING: Your kids will enjoy being creative, too.
CURSE: They will interpret creativity as meaning it’s okay for them to color their entire legs green or draw dots on their faces.
BLESSING: You are full of ideas and opinions.
CURSE: You can’t turn it off.
And on that note, I leave you with this incomplete and possibly incoherent list.
Cheers!