Dear Creativity,
In a couple of weeks, I will present a talk at a local high school for their STEAM week. When I was invited to speak by one of the parent organizers, I immediately asked, ” What would you like me to talk about?”. The answer was as follows:
In regards to the expectations, the primary goal is to get the students excited about STEAM fields. Speakers come from diverse backgrounds and share their experiences, journeys, or the impact they are making in the field of STEAM. Given your experience and the work you are doing in the field of education and volunteer experience, it will be great to have your viewpoint. The STEAM events goal is to get the students excited and also show them different path to success.
Immediately the wheels started to turn because my path to this very moment in time is definitely different. All my life I have been different on the fringe, exploring avenues that I was not lined up to explore, and chasing visions that were always many steps ahead of the status quo. So what would be my advice to those young impressionable minds? Explore everything and anything you are curious about. Be adventurous. Forget business as usual and buck the status quo. How to Be Everything: Life Adventures as a Multipotentialite, a title befitting a highly multi-passionate human being is what I submitted for my talk.
Creativity, you know I first learned about the term, multipotentialite, a couple of years ago, and Emilie Wapnick’s TED Talk, Why some of us don’t have one true calling, had a tremendous impact on how I viewed my life. According to her book, How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don’t Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up, I could be an artist/computer scientist/educator/storyteller and I could still get on in the world. Mind blown. All my life I had been trying to fit myself into some box, only to realize I do best and feel successful when I get to change up the scenery or my vantage point every so often. As I prepare for my talk and work on many projects, it has me thinking:
Why are we so afraid to invest and follow our passions in a world where the only constant is change?
For my afternoon break today, I decided to step outside and catch a few sun rays. Imagine that I would be greeted by you, Creativity. After soaking in the sun, as I walked back to my apartment I saw an interesting shadow that was being cast on the side of the building. Instead of heading back to my apartment, I leaned into my curiosity and I found myself on a shadow hunt around the complex. Inspiration for the moment, or future art inspiration does not matter, it is the urge to take a moment to play and discover that mattered.
Five shadow pictures in a vertical collage of people and organic forms
Creativity, as I reflect on this spontaneous shadow hunt, I realize it’s a perfect metaphor for the very question I’ve been pondering. Perhaps it’s because we’ve been conditioned to believe that success looks like a straight line, a single path, or a clearly defined destination. But you and I know better, don’t we? We understand that true fulfillment often comes from embracing the winding road, from allowing ourselves to be drawn by the shadows and light that catch our eye along the way. Just as I found unexpected beauty and inspiration in the ever-shifting patterns on the walls of my apartment complex, we can find richness and purpose in the diverse interests that call to us throughout our lives.
In a world of constant change, isn’t it actually more practical to cultivate multiple passions? To develop a range of skills and perspectives that allow us to adapt, innovate, and find connections where others see only disparate parts? This is the message I want to share with those high school students, Creativity. I want them to know that their curiosity is a gift, not a liability. That their diverse interests are not a sign of indecision, but a wellspring of potential. So, my dear friend, as I prepare for this talk, I’m going to encourage these young minds to be brave in their explorations. To invest not just in one passion, but in the very act of passionate engagement with the world around them. To see their multipotentiality as a superpower in a rapidly evolving landscape.
After all, in a world where the only constant is change, isn’t the ability to change, to grow, to reinvent oneself the most valuable skill of all? Isn’t the willingness to step off the beaten path and follow the intriguing shadows of our curiosity the very essence of innovation and progress? Thank you, Creativity, for always being there, urging me to look beyond the obvious, to embrace the unexpected, and to find joy in the journey of discovery. As I share my story with these students, I’ll be sharing a bit of you too – the ever-present companion in all my adventures.
Innovatively yours,
Dr. Abigail
