The words “social” and “creative” belong in two completely separate categories in my mind. Their definitions couldn’t be further from aligning, at least in the traditional sense. One is a butterfly who thrives in social situations, while the other is completely content in its cocoon, interacting through its creations. Freelancers are oftentimes the latter—the creative minds who express themselves through their craft, rather than talking through their emotions. When communicating with a creative, their social cues are far different from that of a butterfly’s, as their feelings are not always revealed in their facial expressions or spoken verbally, but told through stories, poetry, songs, and artwork.
I fall within the “creative” category hibernating in my cocoon, and while I’d imagine many of you reading this are fellow creatives (hello, wallflowers!), you can probably relate to the need for these forms of creative expression as well. As creatives (aka anyone who creates using their imagination), we allow our work to speak for us, acting as a therapeutic tool to release all the thoughts we have trouble vocalizing. We don’t simply call up a friend to talk about our suppressed feelings.
We write about it in our diaries,
turn it into a screenplay,
publish our words in print,
perform it onstage in song,
paint it on a canvas,
recite it center stage at SLAM poetry night
– any way to release the heaviness off of our minds.
We turn our feelings into various forms of entertainment, revealing some of the deepest truths in our diaries; publish our stories in books for people to read on the beach or while idling on an airplane; bring them to life on a big screen, gawked at over buckets of popcorn and overpriced candy. The soundtracks to our heartfelt lives, blasting through the speakers of the car radio. It’s us—the creative people of the world—who hide behind our creations, and yet we’re the ones that people connect with the most (butterflies included).
I can’t explain why this is our chosen method of communicating, but I can understand it. The intense need to surrender this burden off our chest but divulging it in plain English just doesn’t feel like enough. We have so much to deliver that saying it over a phone call or a coffee date doesn’t suffice. It’s like once we’re ready to share our truth, the entire world needs to hear it instead of just a handful of our closest friends. I don’t know. I can’t speak for every creative why showcasing their work feels the most pleasurable. Oftentimes, creatives don’t reveal their creations at all, but just producing it in front of themselves offers that same gratifying experience.
I can speak from my own experience as a creative. That turning my thoughts and innermost feelings into a works-of-art is the only way I truly know how to express myself. It’s a way I can get my point across, while also understanding why I feel the way I do. It’s my form of communicating—connecting with others in a manner that’s comfortable to me.
As creatives, we are extremely good listeners, internalizing what we see and being in tune with what we hear, which explains how observant and detail-oriented most creative minds are. We may not demonstrate how we feel through our facial expressions or demeanor, but we share it through our creations. Work that is repeatedly shared over time—binge watched, favorited, bookmarked, recited, recorded, and magnified. Our treasures that explain who we really are as individuals…as creatives.
Freelancers—what is your creative outlet and how do you use it to communicate?
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