Being Creative in a Cookie Cutter World

I spend a lot of time wondering how other people think.

Not WHAT other people think.

HOW they think.

They say the creative mind is different from, say, a mathmatical mind, or an analytical mind. You may have heard about the right brain/left brain theories on creative thinking and tried to figure it all out.  I read all of the theories and studies and still I wonder.

If you were creative or ‘different’ when you were in grade school, how did you feel about it?  Were you teased, ridiculed, bullied, or simply ignored?  I would say all four happens to creative children at one time or the other.  And how did you react?  Did you try to pretend you were like everyone else? ‘Normal?’ Did you try to act and think like others?  Did you find kinship with the outcasts of the class or did you sit by yourself and try to pretend it didn’t matter that you didn’t fit in?

I understand many things now that I am older.  One thing I see clearly now is that creative children have more in common with the other outcasts than they ever would have with the mainstream kids.  One boy I especially remember was absorbed in history.  He loved it and was good at knowing all the details of battles and the ins and outs of historical events as well as the dates and names of all the important historical figures. He was a bit heavy set and wasn’t really ‘social.’ Tom never fit in and was often the butt of jokes because of his passion for history. I never laughed. I had an admiration for that passion of his and I still remember his name after all these years. There was also an amazing ‘science’ girl. Claudia was fascinated with the space program. We were in Florida at the time and the space program was huge. But, at that time, women were not allowed in the space program. No problem for Claudia. She knew she could be a scientist in the background and would be accepted for her abilities. You may or may not recall but those were the days of Martin Luther King, Jr. saying we should be judged by the contents of our mind.

So much for that.

I believe creative people and very smart and/or talented people have a tough time growing up. They are misfits from the get go. Helping a child embrace their unique qualities should be the job of the parent or close relative/family friend. Claudia and Tom had parents that treasured their unique passions and abilities. When that support isn’t there though, it’s very difficult. Some parents don’t know what to do and some just wish their child was ‘normal.’

I think most people do find a way eventually, usually by finding kindred spirits and creating their own ‘normal.’ A good example of this is the one group every school has. The nerds. They are usually math geeks or computer geeks that are miles ahead of the rest of us intellectually (and way behind us socially). Because of their smarts, they are ostracized. We don’t want anyone around to remind us we aren’t Einsteins. But, somehow, they gravitate to each other and they do OK. They usually end up having great careers and great families.

The artists usually find each other, the musicians form bands, the history buffs join a club. We all search for a place to be where we are the norm and no longer the misfit.

I am grateful for all the misfits of this world because they bring us enlightenment, entertainment, enhanced living, and music to our ears. So, bring on the laughter, and the jokes, and turn a cold shoulder, but the misfits will always be the ones that end up the winners. Maybe never ‘normal’ but who wants that anyway?