I have had an idea rolling around in my head for a while now on how I can inspire and encourage creativity in others beyond the classroom. The beauty of my role as an educator is that each and every year, I come into contact with some incredibly talented young adults who are bursting with creativity and ingenuity. But I usually only get one year with them in the classroom before they move on to a new chapter of their lives. My heart wants to help young creatives beyond just the 180 calendar school days I typically get with them.
So I have the idea to start a Feature Friday column here to showcase some of the amazing, young talent that is in the world right now. I’ve taken a couple of polls on instagram to see who would be interested in being featured, and I was thrilled at the responses. And now seems like a time more than ever that creatives need to help encourage other creatives to use this time and this season to create.
Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash
This project also comes as a challenge to people like myself who have creative dreams that remain that, just dreams. I’ve had ideas since high school and college that I have dabbled with but never fully pursued like some of my students are whole-heartedly pursuing their dreams. Perhaps it is the rise and pervasiveness of social media that has these students feeling more bold and persistent than I was at their age, but I am encouraged to see these young adults combining their courage and creativity to be vital participants in the world around them.
If this sounds like you or someone you know, please reach out to me and I would love to add more names to my list of people to feature. For the longest time — and still to this day if I’m being honest — I wanted to be the one to start a non-profit or become a New York Times best seller. And maybe one day those things can still happen. But over the years I have come to realize that my calling is more aligned with helping other people find their callings. That I want to use my voice to help other people find and develop and share their voices.
So here we go. I can’t wait to see what seeds can be planted and grown through this project.
Come back next Friday for our first feature :)