Art 220: Entry 7

On Thursday we viewed a Hammer Lectures series video of Sir Ken Robinson (I am posting the video at the bottom of this entry. It runs at a little over 80 minutes but it is quite enlightening and worth the watch). In the video, Sir Robinson discusses how people must find their element- a combination of talent and personal passion to succeed in life.

Our education system caters to certain talents and crushes diversity- Sir Robinson tells us this. He talks about how our talents are burrowed deeply in our selves and how they must have certain circumstances that allow them to thrive. Once we have our talent, however, we are not set for life. If our talents do not make us happy, then we have not found our element. We can be great at something and make a lot of money, but all the money in the world will not give us a sense of fulfillment.

Finding this balance is not only beneficial to our self but also to our communities. The world thrives on diversity. We would not function if every one was a banker. Bankers need business people. Business people need suppliers. Suppliers need factory works. Factory workers carry good that were made by craftsmen. It's the circle of life. We can't all be the doctors and lawyers our parents want us to be. We have to follow our dreams and find our own meaning.

There have been times where I am working on a homework assignment and I'll suddenly have an incredible urge to draw. I then fight myself for the next couple of seconds: should I go with the inspiration or should I concentrate on the task at hand? Perhaps I can finish quickly and then draw. I find that regardless of what I choose, I'll feel guilty. I should have gone with that urge. I'm an artist! My creativity should come first. Or.. why am I drawing? I have so much work to do. I'm going to regret this when it's 2 and a half hours past midnight. I don't know that there's a right choice and I'm not trying to condone procrastination. But I do feel that sometimes we've been conditioned into thinking academics are the sole importance in existence. Einstein wasn't the best student but he was most definitely a genius. While I'm not calling myself a genius, I sometimes feel better when I think about things like this.



descriptor collection
sparse: too few; a minimal amount.
quaint: charming in an unusual way
corpulent: plump and fleshy; fat