Editorial #5 – Defining Oneself As Creative
Hello fellow Gauchos,
Many of you reading this are submitting your college applications or have submitted them long ago. I too have been working to turn them all in before the deadline. However, while submitting my applications, I encountered an ongoing problem with answering one specific question: defining and describing my creativity.
At first, such a question appeared to be very easy for me to answer, but when writing out my answer, I found myself unable to answer it without having to rewrite it hundreds upon millions of times. I tried describing how I enjoy art or baking or dancing to show my creativity, but furthering my research, I realized multiple times that these things I do in my free time, many others do as well. There is no significant difference between the origin of our creative sides and I now can finally understand why: social media.
The first place I went to search for what counts as creative, or what can be described as creative for my college applications, was on social media. It would have been better to research by reading a book about creativity or a college application guide. However, social media was most efficient for a quick answer. Nowadays, with social media being the outlet for all social interactions between humans, defining yourself as creative is becoming unachievable. As a society, creativity is regarded as easily identifiable for lucky people or those who have a more significant following. These conclusions take credit for a particular idea, but is it wrong for someone to state that they are creative even if they are neither of those? I constantly compare myself to those I saw on social media in their view on creativity. I was heavily influenced by what counts as creative and what does not, but that is a difficult thing to do.
Further, I questioned if it was wrong that another content creator was influencing me to create something similar to what they have done in the past and put that on my essay as something only I can identify that I do creatively. Bob Marcotte, Senior Communications Officer for Science, Engineering, and Researcher at the University of Rochester, states:
The algorithms that social media platforms used to recommend whom we should ‘follow’ are designed to steer us to people who likely share the same ideas and interests.
His words add to the idea that being creative is solely based on what and who you watch, whom you hear and listen to, and whom you follow, further stating that being creative is dependent on whom you interact with through your social networks.
I wanted to bring this issue forward for any students who have trouble defining who they are. Do not worry: millions of people question who they are too. You may even express your creativity like millions of others, but no one can judge the uniqueness you add to your creativity. Refrain from confusing creativity with being heavily influenced by a person on social media. Do not be afraid to explore new artists and hobbies that are fun and entertaining to you so you can explore your imagination even further. So what if millions of people state they, too, are creative for liking the same things you do? It is what you do with your creativity that matters most.
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Kind and warm regards,
Estrella Gonzalez
G.P. Writer, 2022-2023
