Have you ever seen This Is Spinal Tap? Oh yes, you have? Then you are cultured (yes, the good kind—like yogurt). Anyway, I want you to pronounce the title of this post like they say that line in This Is Spinal Tap: "The Druids...who weeeere they? What were they dooooing here?" The movie as a whole is pretty darn ridiculous, but that scene makes me laugh so hard my stomach hurts. Every time.
This post is about creativity, or the lack thereof. This year has been tough for my creativity. Maya Angelou famously said, "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." Well Maya, I haven't been using it. I had a baby right at the beginning of 2020, which ended up being the most whatever year of all time. Postpartum fog coupled with being in a tiny apartment all day writing about mattresses has made it hard to do what I really love.
But I've decided to start anyway.
I've had a childrens' book in my head for years. Actually, I've had the title of this book saved in my phone for who knows how long, and before that, it was saved on my computer—my first computer, purchased in 2007. I think I've been through about three different iPhones and four computers since then, and this book title has somehow survived. I think that means something! So last week, I was putting my baby in her jumper and the first paragraph of this book finally smacked me across the face, or maybe it had been waiting to do that for a while but I was too tired to notice.
So I sat down and wrote it. And then I wrote the first chapter. And I started the second chapter! All of this during my lunch break! Who knew I could do other things during my lunch break besides scroll through Instagram and Pinterest? Maya Angelou knew.
I'm writing this post to remind myself that perfectionism is the enemy to creativity. I've started and finished projects I've hated, sure, but I've also made lots of things I really loved. And guess what, for everything I've made, love it or hate it, starting is always the hardest part.
So here's some things I've made that I'm proud of, and I hope you remember to just make stuff, even if it's terrible. Especially if it's terrible.
