Why do we create?
A question that has been asked as far back as humanity can remember.
There is not one answer, as it comes down to the individual, but what if there's more?
More that we can't see, that we can't understand. Perhaps trying to find the answer, an answer, is foolish.
I look around and all I see is others that create to share, create to express, cope, escape or simply because they want to. And all are much, much more creative than myself.
Ideas and images run through my head, but I can never make them true. Upon creation, everything feels thrown together, lifeless, almost like it hates me for bringing it to life. It's as if I am Frankenstein and the ideas are my monster.
When I was young, before the world painted coats of tarnish on me, I would create because I wanted to. And that was enough. But now, no matter the concept or hobby, doing it for my own enjoyment is uncomfortable, almost wrong. I hate feeling like there needs to be a practical reason behind everything I do.
I long to create, but something holds me back. I want to share, but also want to be left alone.
I want to express, but there's no room in the world for that.
It's a double edged sword and I don't know if the balancing act is worth it, but I'll be disappointed in myself if I don't. Things used to stem from joy, now it stems from pain. Everything I do carries a thin veil of pain, almost as if it's coming from the universe itself.
The world needs more creativity....perhaps kinder creativity even. But the world doesn't deserve it, hasn't earned it, no longer cares about it. It cries out for stories, but burns them upon reception. Hold up a mirror and instead of looking at the reflection, it throws a fist and the mirror shatters.
I don't know what to do, I don't know why I create, I don't even know if I want to anymore. And it hurts.
So I escape. Escape into others creativity because I dislike my own no matter what I do.
And other's stories justify the pain I feel better than I ever could. I don't stay awake wishing Resident Evil or a medieval, war torn fantasy land was real because I think it would be better or that I would be enough of a badass to survive. I do it because in those worlds, in those circumstances, the pain felt makes sense, it's justified in being real.
My pain, always disproportionate to the cause, seemingly, has never felt safe, justified, logical or sensible.
In those other worlds, it would. And maybe my soul wouldn't be so tired, maybe I'd have some courage and maybe, just maybe, I would matter to someone.
I don't know what to do, I don't know where to go. My screams are silent, the tears invisible. The pain stays inside, where else can it go?
At the end of the day, creativity is needed for uncountable reasons.
But, what does one do when the spirit of creativity itself becomes depressed?
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142,252 Literary Works • 677,084 Reviews
Hey! I love your poem and the reflective thoughts included in them
You've raised a very good point.
And it can be asked in many different ways:
*why* do we create?
Just. why. like you've explored. to share ? to express?
why do *we* create?
are humans anything special? Does animals or even aliens create? Is this why we evolve and are apex predators? Because we create with out intelligence? Bridges, weapons, warfare, transport, cutlery... Why do younger people have a more creative mind? Is it purely biology and the fact that brains change over time? or is it because reality limits our imagination?
why do we *create*?
This one is quite blurry; what is classed as creation? creativity? We can do so much stuff with our free will, so why are we not content with what already exists? Instead why do we try to make new things?
I love how your poem explores the answer to these, prompting us to think as well, ironic to the title, this expands our creativity. Then it goes on to exploring the consequences when creativity is gone; and I agree--its a real tragedy.
I don't know the answer to most of these questions but I do want to try answering one :
'I don't know what to do, I don't know why I create, I don't even know if I want to anymore. And it hurts.'
I guess we're on the same boat here so I totally understand. I've been pondering as well. The conclusion I came up with is because we're more strict with ourselves: we read other people's amazing work which somehow makes us feel like ours is not good enough. But we didn't regress at all; we just had higher expectations. what do we do? Keep writing! I absolutely love your poem and other reviewers did too. we are bound to have doubts but I just love your point of view.
Keep going! I believe this is what YWS is for. for us to keep propelling each other forwards.
Lightswitch.
Hi FireSpyGirl! It's Jade here, I really like long, essay-eque poems, so I am super excited to review this. Your title caught my attention, as everyone on YWS loves to create and make art, so the poem's title on this website caught my attention. That being said, let's get into the review.
This is a really good point. I create to express my emotions. I need it to process and understand my experiences. I have friends who write because it's fun, and they like to challenge themselves. Others write just for praise or to improve their technical skills. I have never thought of a deeper reason though. I like how this line opens up the rest of your monolouge and also gives the reader an interest in continuing.I really like this reference, it truly evokes the concept you are describing. However, it's not a full sentence and does disrubt the flow a little. Instead, I'd suggest saying It's as if... or maybe It comes together as if.... That way it is a full sentence, and flows better by tying everything together.
This line does a great job of symbolizing everything you're trying to say. We want art, we want people to make an effort and bear their soul for our entertainment, but then we mock them, make memes, and truly disregard it. Fans constantly belittle writers when they do not like something, and if they do, they put down other artists to uplift their taste. It truly is a double-edged sword, and you portray that so well!
This line is also such a great way to sum up how I think most writers feel. I often wonder if my life is tragic enough to warrent my emotions, or if I am just annoyingly whining in my work. However, anything we create purely from human emotion is justified in itself. I think to live, and experience, is justification. We are all connected through feelings of joy, pain, sadness, anger, excitement, etc. How we express it may be individual, but even if art isn't to my taste, I can appreciate it. Being vulnerable is scary, but it can be made much more satisfying by creating. You also point to escaping into other worlds. Maybe the whole point is to escape while still feeling our human emotions.
I agree that we need creativity for so many reasons. I like how you ended this poem with this question, it leaves the reader feeling sort of empty, as we must find our own answers and digest the sorrow within what you have said. Personally, I think that means to keep creating. Whenever I feel that my creativity is influenced, I try to just write until i feel better, then refuse to look at my writing until I feel better. Then I go back, edit and reassess my emotion, and everything feels a lot clearer. Often, it also feels as if the depressive creativity came for a reason, and I was able to push it away to make something I'm proud of and want to share with others.
As you can see from my lenghty comments, your poem left me with a lot of thoughts, and I think it was super well-written. I enjoyed the topic, the metaphors and symbolism you used, and the whole point of the discussion. I also enjoyed being able to share my own thoughts. It was thought-provoking, leavig me to answer questions with each line and learn a little more about why I respect art, and why I feel the need to create and write.
Even when I take a break, I find myself thinking of poetry lines and metaphors. The need to create never truly leaves us.
Jade
i genuinely relate to this SO SO MUCH omg especially the part about wanting to create but feeling like nothing you make is ever good enough, because i think that feeling can be so frustrating when you have so many ideas in your head but struggle to bring them to life the way you imagined. the part about creating because it used to bring you joy, but now everything feels connected to pain, really hit me too. i also love how you describe wanting to share your creativity but simultaneously wanting to be left alone, because that conflict feels so real. sometimes you want people to understand what you’re feeling, but actually letting them see that part of you is terrifying. the way you describe escaping into other people’s stories because their worlds give your pain a place to make sense genuinely got to me. your writing expresses so much emotion, and i think the final question is such a powerful ending because it leaves you thinking about how something that once brought happiness can become so difficult to hold onto. this is genuinely so beautifully written, and i really hope you know that your creativity doesn’t have to be perfect or productive to deserve space in the world
@Renwritessss
Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it and could relate to it as well.
yw!!