I thought it would never happen, but as a second semester senior in college, it did. They finally added a class to our strict, business-core curriculum called “MK399: Creativity.” I anticipated a lot of art supplies and a hipster-looking professor, but instead, I got a reality check and a Scandinavian guy with the faintest of accents. This particular professor was radical, perhaps more radical than I am; so radical that he wore sweatpants to class and never buttoned the bottom button of his button-up. He was also brilliant; so brilliant that he convinced me, someone who identified as wildly creative, that I was all wrong about creativity. I’ve since gained a new understanding of the term.
Creativity is not about abstract art or adult coloring books; it’s about finding problems and solving them. It’s about seeing life as a series of open-ended challenges and inventive solutions, realizing that there is no correct angle from which to analyze a problem, and no exact solution with which to solve it. This particular professor taught me that problems were good things, because without problems, I couldn’t be a problem solver. He taught me that problem solvers were to thank for almost all of the revolutionary products, services, and experiences that make up the world we live in. And most importantly, he taught me to see every question, every need, every void, and every curiosity as a problem that needs solving; a problem that deserves my creative energy and an attempt at an inventive solution.
Creativity is not about abstract art or adult coloring books; it’s about finding problems and solving them. It’s about seeing life as a series of open-ended challenges and inventive solutions, realizing that there is no correct angle from which to analyze a problem, and no exact solution with which to solve it. This particular professor taught me that problems were good things, because without problems, I couldn’t be a problem solver. He taught me that problem solvers were to thank for almost all of the revolutionary products, services, and experiences that make up the world we live in. And most importantly, he taught me to see every question, every need, every void, and every curiosity as a problem that needs solving; a problem that deserves my creative energy and an attempt at an inventive solution.
I walked away from that class with a fresh perspective on life. I began converting everything around me into a “problem and solution” format. I began to experience creativity in action, really picking up on patterns and best practices. Over time I noticed two things: (1) I was a natural at this, and (2) I could trick myself into staying sharp. I’ve found that when I’m living a life in which I have no problems to solve, my creative tendencies and abilities slip away from me, leaving me a rather boring, comfortable, and complacent person. When I’m living a life with tons of problems to solve, however, creativity becomes a necessity and an essential part of my daily life. So, while many believe that I’m aimlessly floating through a directionless post-graduate life right now, what I’m actually doing is very intentional. I understand the severe importance of the tone you set for your life right out of college, and I wouldn’t dare set a tone for myself that was centered more around staying safe and secure than staying sharp. I’m purposing to spend an entire year surrounded by problems that need solving, burdened by a lack of resources, having to bank on nothing but my creative ability to convert problems to solutions and keep me alive. |
My theory is that if I can spend a year building habits dealing with creativity and problem solving, my mind and my motives will stay aligned with these things, even after moving on to a new chapter. I believe that instinctual creativity and problem solving skills will keep me alive and that intentional creativity and problem solving skills will open windows of opportunity for me. Who knows? I could be wrong. I have 11 months to find out. And you have 11 months to watch it all go down.
Interestingly enough, pretty much everything I’ve done for as long as I’ve been here has been at attempt to solutionize one of my many problems. And no, "solutionize" is not a word, but that's not one of my many problems.
Interestingly enough, pretty much everything I’ve done for as long as I’ve been here has been at attempt to solutionize one of my many problems. And no, "solutionize" is not a word, but that's not one of my many problems.
TINY PROBLEMS 1. Unable to scroll through social media feeds for hours like the Millennials that we are, we had to fill the void with conversation starters. Our lovely “Ask – It – Basket” (which is comically enough housed in a jar, not a basket) was our solution to the fact that we have no WiFi in our apartment. | 2. Aside from rent, we pay extra for utilities. This is money on top of the money I already don’t have enough of. We found a bunch of hacks to encourage us to use less water, less electricity, and less AC. For example, we implemented a headband system on our cups so that we would never forget which one is ours and can reuse the same cup over and over without washing them. |
3. Lighting in the bedrooms is strange. There are no overhead lighting systems, and the light switches are connected directly to the outlets. I have no lamps, therefore I have no light. However, an iPhone flashlight paired with an empty mason jar makes a surprisingly good lantern.
MEDIUM-SIZED PROBLEMS
1. We’re slowly but surely acquiring furniture, but at our lowest point, we didn’t even have a coffee table. For some reason, we found this more of a necessity than beds, so I prioritized and got creative. Long story short, I built a makeshift coffee table out of a drying rack flipped on its side and some shipping boxes from Staples. Total of $3.29. Definitely did the job. We’ve since upgraded to a flipped over storage container and a cardboard box.
MEDIUM-SIZED PROBLEMS
1. We’re slowly but surely acquiring furniture, but at our lowest point, we didn’t even have a coffee table. For some reason, we found this more of a necessity than beds, so I prioritized and got creative. Long story short, I built a makeshift coffee table out of a drying rack flipped on its side and some shipping boxes from Staples. Total of $3.29. Definitely did the job. We’ve since upgraded to a flipped over storage container and a cardboard box.
HUGE PROBLEMS (In Our Minds)
1. We’re both personality people, and this apartment had no personality when we got here. We’ve since added a bunch of fun and quirky things, including but not limited to: a randomly found map of Europe, a rock that we’ll re-paint depending on the occasion, some HGTV-esque kitchen décor, an Idea Wall, a Lessons Learned Wall, a couple strands of string lights, a little tiny cactus named Spike, and a nice line up of shot glasses from around the world. More knick-knacks to come.
1. We’re both personality people, and this apartment had no personality when we got here. We’ve since added a bunch of fun and quirky things, including but not limited to: a randomly found map of Europe, a rock that we’ll re-paint depending on the occasion, some HGTV-esque kitchen décor, an Idea Wall, a Lessons Learned Wall, a couple strands of string lights, a little tiny cactus named Spike, and a nice line up of shot glasses from around the world. More knick-knacks to come.
2. I still need a bunch of money. I paid my first month's rent but there’s always another one around the corner. Unless I fail my background check, a new job at Starbucks is in the works! This is another place in which I’m being very intentional about what I do with my time this year. Customer service, on-demand food/beverage service especially, is an industry in which you’re constantly running into problems. People problems, appliance problems, inventory problems – you name it and it’ll happen. I want to be doing work that is fast-paced, high energy, and full of problems that need solving. That’s what makes being a barista more valuable to me than being in a marketing agency, for instance. The more problems I have, the sharper I’ll be. I’m very aware that Starbucks can’t fund my entire life, however. I know I need to some other sources of income. I’ve looked into a few ideas for money makers, some of which are working (ex. Selling clothes online), some of which are great ideas but are also off the table (ex. Freelance RA that does rounds for current RA’s… definitely illegal), and some of which make slow money but are wildly entertaining. The best example of that one is my retro candy machine. I found it in my basement, brought it to the apartment, filled it with M&Ms and waited to see what would happen, but no one ever had quarters on them. My solution was to sarcastically tell them they could Venmo me a quarter. My roommate bet me that no one would ever do that, so I turned it into a fun story/game. Now every time we have friends over, I fill them in on the joke, they Venmo me a quarter, and it all works out the way it should. |
3. The guy who interviewed me for Starbucks casually mentioned that he passionately hates Myers Briggs as much as I passionately love it. Still haven’t solved this one. It’s a tragedy.
General Updates to Report
I wouldn’t say that people in general are starting to enjoy my journey, but I’d definitely say that my peers are. I’ve had so many people my age reach out to me with job opportunities that they’ve heard of, interesting ideas for making a side income, invites to take me out to lunch/dinner, commission offers for selling things they’ve been trying to sell, and even so much as item donations for my use, everything from a down comforter to a lamp, a used futon to flax oil milk. I’ve received so much love and support from my peers. I'm definitely proud to be a Millennial, and as much I’m doing this for myself, I’m doing this for all of us who’d rather build lives than careers, but are taught that it’s wrong to do so.
I wouldn’t say that people in general are starting to enjoy my journey, but I’d definitely say that my peers are. I’ve had so many people my age reach out to me with job opportunities that they’ve heard of, interesting ideas for making a side income, invites to take me out to lunch/dinner, commission offers for selling things they’ve been trying to sell, and even so much as item donations for my use, everything from a down comforter to a lamp, a used futon to flax oil milk. I’ve received so much love and support from my peers. I'm definitely proud to be a Millennial, and as much I’m doing this for myself, I’m doing this for all of us who’d rather build lives than careers, but are taught that it’s wrong to do so.
TOP 5 (OR 6) FEEL GOOD MOMENTS OF THE WEEK
- Almost bought a bed from a former Bentley Women’s Basketball National Champion. She sold it just before I asked, but it would’ve been so legendary.
- Spent an afternoon in great company, driving around Waltham blasting a playlist called "Throwbacks So Hard You Get Whiplash". To say the least, our necks hurt.
- Hosted our first official BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair) Dinner with some of Andrew's friends. Shout out to Sam, Casey, and Juice for bringing your own chairs, not leaving any leftovers, and going through a whole deck of deep-question cards with us.
- Was approached on campus one day by a particularly friendly freshman. I told him I was an alumni, but felt a hint of nervousness to ruin his idea of Bentley by giving him the truthful answer to "So, where do you work?". I decided to go for it, told him what I was up to, and couldn't have been happier to have had the conversation that ensued. He was a bit intoxicated at the time, so I really didn't anticipate him tracking me down a few days later and telling me that he'd read my blog and watched my Ted Talk and wanted to be friends with me.
- Had a really long, powerful, late-night Green Space conversation with a Bentley Senior who was deciding whether or not to take the full-time offer that he was given. He made the gutsy, courageous, and motivating choice not to, and I couldn't be more proud of him or who he's become.
- Got permission to attend the Dear World presentation at Bentley this year. It was full of powerful stories and portraits that I'm so thankful I didn't miss.
Stay tuned next week to see if I passed my background test, to see if Ire-invent the coffee table yet again, and to see what kind of problems I'm (willingly) dealing with! Thanks for reading!