As I explore these questions for myself, my creative self, I wish someone had asked me “what’s your creative medium?” After much thought and reflection, I’ve come to an understanding that my creative medium has always been writing. I hold words in a delicate demeanor, to a higher standard, cautious and aware of how I use to exercise the power of language and the effect words may have on others. At an early age, I wanted to be a journalist, and would wake up to thoughts in dreams that I would have to put down on paper as a release. Even now, many of the thoughts bubbling in my head have manifested as documents saved on my computer. Most of it is in the genre of self-reflection, pondering about inquires of life, of business, art, of design. I’ve also dabbled in other forms of writing such as stand-up comedy, skit writing, as a student more so than professional, but they’ve allowed me to exercise and expand my medium of choice in differing ways.

I used to be scared to share my writing, often viewing in as an act of extreme vulnerability, a familiar feeling similar to that of my time as novice stand-up comedian taking the stage for the first time or as a novice yoga teacher guiding a full class through asanas. But now I now view the act of creative sharing as the purest act of human connection. One that says “see me,” “see deep within my spirit, my soul, my being” and recognize that you and I are the same. At least that’s how I’ve started to interpret it.

Although I prefer written word to be my preferred medium, I try to exercise my creative energy in a multitude of ways, in order to balance the more analytical work I do on a day to day for my work. I enjoy learning and exploring other traditionally creative fields such as music, dance, art. I was lucky to have parents that let my explore different activities, opening up channels for creative expression at a young age that I could always tap back into as an adult. I also used to dance and play piano.

I was always particularly drawn to sounds and found them to be comforting, healing almost. Although I consider myself more of a music aficionado than anything, I am learning the drums and from time to time take a salsa class or a hip hop class when I can. I’ve also started to dabble in the arts mediums, playing with pastels, oil paintings, more as a student than artist.

If I were to describe what I value most about myself, I would say it’s my creativity and curiosity. I enjoy pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, taking in fresh stimuli, following tangent modes of thought, and connecting the dots. Asking What If? and Why?

I am fueled by ideas and seeking to understand. I think there’s something beautiful, raw, almost sacred about seeding an idea, giving it life, and growing it from the ground up. It’s both an art and science that requires mindful play between allowing your creativity, your imagination to take over coupled with a strategic discipline to execute on it.  

From a professional standpoint, my creativity and energy around ideas manifest as products, services, business models working in innovation teams. I try to bring my creative self into my work world and do find that a greater integration of the two can be highly beneficial. Times when I was pursuing creative hobbies like comedy with fervor, I felt more fluidity in my thinking processes. Whereas, when I’ve been deep down in analysis, I find myself thinking in a more linear, logical way in my personal life.

I subscribe to the notion that your brain, like any muscle has the potential to adapt, grow in ways you have agency around. In this way, I tapping into creative mediums is a rarity for those not in a traditional creative field, yet such a need.