The title is cheesy, but in 2021 I’m committing myself to the pursuit of creativity. For the past year and a half (give or take) I’ve been at work in the “corporate world”. In the last few months of my prior job, my boss had us all read a book about creativity in the workplace. It highlighted a need to return to encouraging creativity and freedom in corporate workplaces. I really like the sentiment behind this book, (it was written by a Disney employee,) but in my humble opinion, the modern workplace does not foster nor reward creativity. You can read any number of think pieces on the internet about how the 40 hour workweek is unnecessary and unproductive and in the last year, due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s painfully apparent that our workplaces are in dire need of a rework. But no one changes. Nothing changes and instead of allowing necessity to shift society in a new direction we continue to force square pegs into round holes. That, even in the face of a global pandemic, we continue to insist that America’s workforce return to work or maybe, stay at home and work, still for those 9-5 shifts even though the world has changed almost beyond recognition. This long-winded rant all just to say that, this year, even though I will still be working at my corporate job I shall at least devote myself to the pursuit of happiness in exploring my creativity after work.

I want to spend at least an hour every day doing something creative. Sometimes, that means just cooking dinner for myself, or baking a sweet treat. Sometimes it means working on my novel or YouTube channels. But one of those big things is getting back to working on this blog. Last year at some point I realized that I have a real desire to make my voice heard. I’m not special, but I have a perspective that I’m really hoping some people might tune in to hear. In the coming year, I plan on sharing my thoughts a lot more, whether it’s here or on my YouTube channel. (I also really want to share some of my creative writing, but we’ve got to build to that.) Through these moments I want to share my journey of soul searching. As many of my close friends and family will tell you, I’m pretty religious, I love Jesus and have been a Christian for most of my life. However, I’ve been going through a process of deconstruction, re-thinking what I know or have been told about Christianity, the Bible, and the institution of religion. I want to document some of my thoughts on that. Deconstruction is rocky, but I believe the necessary process in being a modern-day Christian.

I’m technically a part of Gen-Z, however, I like to call myself a Zillennial, because I am on the cusp of the Millennial and Gen-Z. Our shared groups have gone through a LOT of big moments in history. I am relatively outspoken on my Instagram story and Twitter, sharing my perspective, political and moral opinions, but I really, really look up to a lot of the more outspoken members of my generation who take a stand loudly and proudly. I want to be braver in that aspect because silence is dangerous. The events of 2020 were not just a virtue of the year being bad, it was a reflection of many, many years of systemic oppression. The problems from last year do not simply go away in this one and it will take many years and a genuine determination to undo the damage from that oppression. Everyone’s voice matters. That’s what democracy is. So I’m going to use mine.

This article is really loaded, but I want to get all of this on the table off the bat. My 2021 is focused on creativity and authenticity because I think that’s the only way I’ll truly be happy. We only get one shot on Earth and I’m not gonna spend my time here depressed and just going along with the status quo because that’s what everyone else does and what everyone tells you to do. A lot of people will say, “That’s just the way things are.” But fail to understand that it doesn’t have to be. We created society. We can change it. I’m going to choose (because it’s a choice,) to do and pursue the things that genuinely bring me joy. I refuse to settle and I refuse to stay silent about it anymore. So here we go. Step one. Sharing this extremely honest and extremely vulnerable article. Join me on this journey if you want, but either way, I’ll keep shouting into the void, even if no one cares to hear.

Thanks for reading, with love,

Lauren