When I was younger, I used to be so picky with my food. I was one of those kids who would push the plate aside with a swift gesture if the meatballs were drowning in sauce or if one of the fries touched another vegetable. Keeping different types of food separated from each other was the norm. My plate would always resemble a map of foods isolated form each other by the blank space of the plate. In my idyllic world, every food should dwell in its own aisle. That was the status quo.
Sometimes, in life, we can all be like that, lacking a blending line and instead placing a makeshift wall where ends of different wires connect to form an upgraded whole. You never stop to consider if that wall stagnates, even halts, your journey of becoming. Oftentimes, altering such inherent acts can cause an upending.
I now reflect on how such a clouded vision of life skews so many intrinsic aspects of existence. If things remain separated, never mingling or merging, how would life have existed in the first place?
What if blue never met red, and purple had ceased to exist?
What if the chocolate chip was never sprinkled on top of cookie dough, and the famous chocolate chip cookie would merely dwell in the minds of the revolutionary, albeit without them actualizing it in fear of breaking the dreaded rule of union?
Synthesis can be beautiful. Synthesis is beautiful.
It’s a testament to creativity pulsing through our veins, to our ability to give life to fleeting thoughts and regale them with an immortality only gods dare to possess.
Fusion is a creative outlet. It is experimental, unapologetic, honest, and above all, imperfect. It’s like adding more layers to an already outstanding painting. It adds depth and character. It’s louder, its echo resounds, and it exudes a sense of quiet, rooted ownership. It is the work you engage in behind the curtains before it culminates in a resounding round of applause. Or perhaps, the final act retrieves nothing but loud disappointment rippling ceaselessly in the echo chamber of your consciousness.
However the narrative unfolds, you still get awarded a golden medal for being both innovative and passionate enough to make a change and fabricate something out of mere void, for starting with a dream and a sliver of courage and steering your ambition on a path carved by your artistry.
Imagination has no rules; it just requires grit, bravery, and a touch of vision. The crux of the matter is not to lose yourself in perfectionism’s tempest. Art does not require flawlessness, it merely urges you to be present and experiment at the cost of failure.
Letting your mind escape mainstream consensus will prove to be your greatest strength, the spark that gives momentum to the fire, the seed from which the most enticing flower blooms. We often lose our sense of self as we roam through life with no strings attached, no rules except those located in the back of our minds, confined by hyperextensible walls that stretch at the commanding snap of one’s fingers. In a world dominated by algorithms constantly and incessantly choosing the trajectory of our journey, guiding our every move, handing us a catalogue of all the socially acceptable moves onwards, finding our voice becomes like searching for a needle in a haystack. Individuality, therefore, becomes an encumbrance, making the air you breathe heavier to inhale.
The world is losing its spark.
We are taught to accept the world as being either black or white, when in all actuality, it proudly sports a plethora of shades of gray. Losing this potent viewpoint buries nuance in the ground and drives us further from the desired happy ending.
It paints a dull picture instead of focusing on vibrancy, and that seemingly inconsequential minutiae actually distorts our quality of life. If we are only fed technicality, creativity flattens and ultimately fades away, banishing itself from your realm like an unfaithful subject.
Experimenting with life’s foundational package is the way to counteract this phenomenon. It is the journey to embark on to reclaim your story and use the palette to your advantage.
If curiosity were never met with ingenuity, we wouldn’t have had half of the things we relish nowadays. If the desire to manufacture novelty had been pushed into the shadows, darkness and tediousness would have prevailed.
Life itself is derived from merging atoms. They are found everywhere. Yes, even your coffee table is a highly organized assembly of atoms, masterfully arranged to serve a purpose.
This scientific fact indisputably proves that existence is not placed on either side of the spectrum, it is somewhere in the middle, it swings like a pendulum, yet it never stagnates, never reaches a specific pole.
The splendidness of life lies in its diverse nature, in its nuance. Life is akin to a question without a final answer, a road trip with no set destination. It would be foolish to strip it down to just one right answer.
So go experiment at time’s expense, go paint something without fearing blemishing the carpet, go craft something even if it lacks practicality, go turn life into your ever-growing playground. And if you are still feeling a little rebellious, go dip fries in ketchup, make a smiley face, and never look back.
Diana is currently a student in her final year of high school. She is an avid reader and has loved writing ever since discovering how cathartic it feels to be able to give thoughts an outlet of escapism. She is a creative and takes great pleasure in partaking in various types of arts such as writing, drawing, editing, painting, and dancing.
