In class, we read "The Creative Personality" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. At the top of the page, it reads "Of all human activites, creativity comes closest to providing the fulfillment we all hope to get in our lives. Call it full-blast living" (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). After reading this, it really made me think. To me, Csikszentmihalyi is saying that creativity leads us to what we want in life. It provides us with a different perspective and it will end up carrying us further than living an average life.
Creativity, as the article explains, is shown in many different ways. Whether you are an actor, a writer, a scientist or an artist, you are creative and your mind, being an out of the ordinary mind, helped you get to the place you are currently in. Csikszentmihalyi takes his time to explain why creative people have gotten far in life. He states that with creative people, "instead of being an 'individual,' each of them is a 'multitude.'" This confused me at first. How could one person be many people? Then Csikszentmihalyi started his reasons for believing so.
Csikszentmihalyi made many contradictions in describing the creative, such as being energetic, yet quiet and at rest. Being smart and yet naive, extroverted and introverted, and being passionate about their work, but they are often objective about it, too. The one thing that captured my attention most was when he states "Creative people, to an extent, escape rigid gender role stereotyping." No gender? How does that work? After reading, I understood that creative people don't want to be compared to others of the same gender, or ones of the opposite. They want to feel equal to others, regardless of gender. That made more sense.
Reading "The Creative Personality" made me think more than I have in a while. It made me realize that I can be creative in whichever way I please and maybe it will take me farther in life than I have ever imagined. I can be contradicting and it will make sense. Most of all, I can do work and not be judged based on gender, because to creative people, your work is great just because it's your own. We are creative in a special way and Csikszentmihalyi made me understand creativity more clearly; and thanks to him, I will carry that with me for the rest of my life. It's in my mind forever.
I really enjoyed this reading. Your understanding of this article was so deep that it led you to a really powerful conclusion that I really liked. I liked how you said "After reading, I understood that creative people don't want to be compared to others of the same gender, or ones of the opposite. They want to feel equal to others, regardless of gender". I really found that you saw from his article that creative people are just people who want to be felt. Yes, as equals but also as people. They don't want to be alone, separated by ridged roles, they want to fit the complexity of all human thought. I really enjoyed reading this. It gave me a new insight into how creativity can open ones mind.
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