CREATIVITY & REBELLION

When I was a teenager some people at school called me a “rebel”.

Because …
1) I was speaking my mind.
2) I didn’t always do things the way people told me to do them. 
(My parents even told me a couple of stories that were not so amusing for them.)

In my last two years at school, I refused to learn by heart. I refused to prepare for my final exams that way and instead used my time for other things but more about that later. Probably, I could have done better with my degrees back then. However, I came to realise that if I can’t get good degrees with the knowledge I can keep in my head without additional memorising work after school, then what’s the point? Speaking my mind, well, I didn’t realise I was doing it until I read the summary about myself in our final yearbook in 2000. I thought it was the norm to share what you think. I can’t deny that I quite liked the idea of being considered a “rebel”. That sounded better than being the quiet, shy and way too serious one for a teenager which people often said about me. I was either observing or listening rather than jumping onto the stage. The society called me an introvert and shy person. Additionally, I was more mature than my peers, talked about deep topics and became known for being very serious, too.

I’ve recently discovered the book “Creativity” by Phillipe Petit. It’s a quick read if you’re interested. He’s saying that creativity has to be rebellious and it resonated with me.

What does it mean to be rebellious? And how does rebellion serve creativity? Let’s have a quick look at what Google and some dictionaries say about being rebellious?

If someone is rebellious, they are difficult to control and do not behave in the way that is expected. (Cambridge Dictionary)
A rebellious person likes to challenge authority and break the rules every now and then.

(Vocabulary)

Breaking the rules, being a bit unpredictable, doing unexpected things, challenging others, maybe even provoking them? I like that! Creativity means to do things in new ways, to produce something new, to put existing things differently into correlation. It doesn’t necessarily mean being a yes sayer, follower and conformity fan. You challenge. You ask questions. You realise people dislike you. You are brave and you step out of your comfort zone. You acknowledge the concept of conformity but you prefer to do it your own way and that’s good in my eyes. This leads to inspiration, innovation, re-invention, progress, personal growth, movement, competition …

Back in those teenage years, I also loved singing. I was a good singer (thanks mum and dad paying for all the expensive singing classes). My mum wanted me to be “successful” and tried to convince me that I had to cover famous songs to get somewhere with my music. She didn’t understand what music and singing really meant to me. I often got bored by singing the songs of others and it was more fulfilling for me to write and compose my own songs. Why should I perform “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” in front of a crowd when I can sing my own “Don’t You Know” song that I wrote for my best friend? A friend that went through a tough phase. I wrote the song only for her to encourage and motivate her to not give up. I thanked her for being a good friend to me. I believed singing that song had more impact than covering a song from someone else. As a result of doing my “own thing,” I was also never allowed to join the school band (because they only did covers). Instead, my music teacher pushed me to play and sing my own songs at our school concerts. I accepted that challenge and learned how to play the piano chords and sing at the same time.

Coming back to when I should have studied every day for my final exams, what did I do? I immersed myself in dancing four times a week and in writing. We were working on the final yearbook. We had never done something like that before and my friend Jana brought the idea back from her high-school year in Mesquite, Nevada. Writing? I loved it! Putting a magazine or book together? I loved it! I observed and learned how to form and lead a group of people who are working on one project. I learned how to put it all together and that was teaching me some transferable skills, not the studying of abstract stochastic or political parties.

I did well in my final school exams. I passed them well and I was very relaxed with all that. I wanted to be brave and I wanted to do things my way. I wanted to learn more, really more and not just “repeat” what I’ve read in the school books. That’s why I also chose to write my own story in our German exam, rather than interpreting and analysing poems about World War II. I was so tired of the war topic. My classmates and I, we were the first generation at our school that had this new option in their final exams and I chose it! I wrote a dialogue about narcissism and never did I regret that.

I believe creativity is served well when someone carries a bit of a rebellious attitude toward the things he or she is doing. Does creativity have to be rebellious? Yes, please!