Creating

Here's the sad truth about me: I'm not creative. I have no artistic ability - even my stick drawings suck. I have no musical talent - somehow I didn't inherit any of those genes from my mom (a trained soprano) or my dad (who never had a piano lesson in his life but can play any song by ear). I like to write, but every time I sit down and try to write interesting fiction, it ends up being an uninteresting account of an Asian-American girl who...hey, sounds a lot like me. I like to cook, but I will never be one one of those amazing chefs who can put together weird ingredients like strawberries and foie gras and make it delicious. I'm good at following, then tweaking recipes. I'm a good re-creator of food, but not a good original creator (which to me, screams of lacking creativity). Anyway, my point is: I am not a creative person.

However. I love creative people and I love creativity. I love people who create amazing products - whether it's technology, art, food, music, jewelry or fashion - I have so much respect for people who have the spectacular combination of vision + passion + determination. These are the people who end up changing the world. It may be with something with phenomenal reach such as the iPhone or the iPad, or it may be in a small, local way (opening an artisan tea shop or creating unique jewelry) - to me, the scale doesn't matter. What matters is the heart behind the product. It makes a difference to me whether a pair of earrings is manufactured in a factory or lovingly hand-made. It matters to me that my coffee is made from well-roasted beans with fresh water and topped with milk foamed to the exact right frothiness. I can tell whether you've made a lemon cake with real lemons or with artificial lemon extract.

Which is yet another reason why I am loving my new neighborhood. It's filled with art galleries, small design firms, mom & pop stores, artisan bakeries & cafes. Even though these days I don't create anything other than contracts (and really, "create" is grossly misused in this sentence, since what I really do is put words together in a format that was created long ago), I love being surrounded by creative people. Rent for commercial space in our neighborhood is apparently cheaper than other areas, so it's attracted a host of people who want to create their own stuff - whether it be a perfect pot of tea, a wickedly strong cup of coffee, a painting or a sculpture, websites, bread & cakes made from scratch, etc. It's so exciting to be surrounded by creators!