Creative Structure

I realized some things while coloring and listening to "Dear Hank & John" all day. First, one of the things Emma Blackery said when she was filling in for John Green that I agree with was something to the effect that to be creatively inspired you must be doing creative things. I think creativity exercises a certain part of my brain that helps make the connections I don't see otherwise. If I'm blocked writing, maybe it's time to draw or make music (not that I make music, but if I did...), because although it's not directly what I want to be doing, it does give my brain an outlet for creative expression that helps me figure out what it is I want to say or how I want to express myself. The second wasn't really a new realization, per se, just something I'd like to keep in mind for my personal growth. I very often find I like to be creative within a structure. In terms of coloring, this means I find it incredibly satisfying to color in the pages and see the clean and beautiful finished product. I have no creative talent for pure invention, and I am hugely awed by the people who do. Those people who have the "big ideas" in any field are the ones who drive great advances, but they're not the only ones who are valuable. If we look back at the coloring book, although the pictures themselves, just drawn lines, are beautiful, they are meant to be improved. The whole point is that the reader takes the book and colors it in and adds doodles to the blank spaces and completes the patterns. The end product is also beautiful, and involved the effort of not only the artist but also the colorer. That's what I like. I like coloring in after the picture has been drawn. This is, I know, why I like grant applications with specific questions for the applicants much more than the "send us your proposal and we'll let you know what we think" method. I'm pretty sure that's why I love baking. Cookies and brownies have a base recipe that can be elaborated on, but when it comes down to it the base is still the chocolate chip cookie that's delicious all on its own and has a specific set of ingredients that make it a cookie. (If you want the recipe for the cookie brownie in the picture, it's here.)

This is also why I loved Future Problem Solving. FPS asked for inventiveness within structure. It encouraged originality while also demanding critical thinking and eloquence. I think about Future Problem Solving a lot (if you don't know what it is, here's a post I wrote a while back, and the link to their official website). It has arguably been the most useful thing I learned in my formative years, and certainly impacts the way I approach problems, problem solving, and even the news. Now, writing grants, imagining new programs and looking at ways to improve this NGO I'm working with, I still put it all through the FPS model. I still say to myself:
1. What's the underlying problem?
2. What are potential solutions to this problem? 
3. Do all these solutions actually solve the problem? Do they have a "so that" clause that directly relates to the underlying problem we are trying to solve?
4. How will I measure the effectiveness of these solutions? What are my criteria?
5. Based on my criteria, which of my solutions is the best?
6. What are sources of assistance and resistance in implementing my action plan? What's the timeframe? Who will implement what parts of this plan? How will this plan come to fruition? Will the appropriate people benefit from the implementation of this plan?

settling in to the new office by looking at the mission and goals posted on our wall

This is what every single FPS competition looked like, and it is exactly what every grant application wants. It is also a really good way to start examining this NGO and its mission and goals in order to create a strategic plan for the future. I have zero doubt that FPS taught me critical thinking skills and that it was the absolute best use of my young mind. I also like continuity, so it, along with swimming and saxophone, were things that I started young and continued at least through my senior year in high school. Who'd have thought that I'd use all those hours of thinking about cancer-curing fish, cyber bullying, space junk, national treasures, nanotechnology, holographic gaming, and so many other random themes for something so concrete as getting funding for a project that will teach young women radio journalism skills to create a youth radio show to challenge cultural norms? Oh FPS, you just made my youth so wonderful and continue to keep my mind so organized. I love it. Reading all this back to myself, I realize this makes me sound both very nerdy and very boring. Yeahhhh, I can't really argue with that. My sister thinks I'm cool, so at least I have that.

Today was also a day of introversion. I literally spent the day coloring and listening to a podcast and nothing else except necessary feedings (of which there were many). They actually talked about being an introvert when Grace Helbig filled in for John, and coming to terms with not wanting to do social activities while still wanting to make friends and be friendly. I primarily have become friends with other introverts, so hanging out together doing nothing is a perfectly legitimate way to become better friends. We also all understand when it has been months between our conversations, it's not that we've stopped being friends, it's just that constant contact isn't all that important. I've always wanted to have that ease of just being able to start a random conversation with someone and staying interested in it for long periods of time. This would have been especially useful while traveling alone, and is actually the primary reason I prefer to travel with a friend. I know this seems counterintuitive, but traveling with someone else is wonderful for me for many reasons. The primary reason is that I do many more things than I would were I alone, because I feel that I should be a good tourist/adventurer so that the other person gets the most from their experience, so I seek out cool and interesting things to do. I psych myself out when I'm alone, then decide that I would be just as happy reading a book, so I do. Reading books in the hostels of various cities and countries is no way to travel, hence the need for a good companion. The secondary reason is that I do not, for the most part, have to interact very much with strangers if I travel with someone else, because even pairs create a kind of insular world that says "We know each other and have shared life experiences. We will remember each other and want to build on those experiences." I legitimately will not remember the randoms I talked to on the way to some trek or at some hostel. We all know this and all but the most outgoing of people tend to respect the friend space created by people not traveling alone. It's also just less scary to be lost, especially being female and not knowing martial arts or something equally useful, with someone else there. This goes back to having to ask strangers for help, but also to just being at the mercy of strangers without anyone else knowing where you are or what is happening. I know I'm supposed to be this strong independent woman and all, but I genuinely would be in trouble in a scary situation. The scariness of being female will very likely be addressed in a future post, though if you want a great rant on sexism in literature, check this one out. Yes, I did just shamelessly promo my sister. She's great, and a better writer than I am.

Total books read: 152
New books read: 110
Recently finished: Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling, which I highly recommend because she's smart and hilarious and honest and one of my favorite actresses of all time. This is her second book, and it covers her transition to running the Mindy Project, among various essays about confidence, friendship, food and being a bad sport. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, which I actually enjoyed as a kids adventure story despite knowing exactly what was going to happen. I know I'm extremely late to this party, but I usually avoid classics because school ruined them for me.
Currently reading: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, and Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb.