Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Grandeur Lessons I learned about Myself

Recently I was posed with an assignment to make an instrument and write a song based on a specific location I went to. After putting those things together I then had to perform the song with the instrument in front of a packed audience. My partner and I, nervous as hell, were able to compose ourselves, have fun and really break out of our comfort zone for a solid 60 seconds that eventful day. At the time there was little running through my head besides just getting the performance over with and not making myself look too much like a fool. But once everything was said and done, I really was pleased with what I was able to successfully do. I did something that I had never dreamt of doing nor had I ever done. I was extremely happy for myself. I really stepped out of a comfort zone and was able to break down the barriers that were at one time holding me back. The project itself involved working with a partner who I had never met prior to becoming a group for this project. It was different arranging times to meet outside of school and class to do such an assignment, but it forced us to work together and, luckily in our case, have fun while doing it. It’s amazing how when you work with someone else how much easier it is to come up with ideas and be as creative as you want and with this assignment there was no way to not be as creative as you want. There were no boundaries holding us back and we really let the flood gates go. It was quite the liberating feeling. I discovered the beauty of meeting a stranger and collaborating with them to make magic, to make art. By the end of the assignment I had discovered that I can indeed make a fool out of myself in front of a large class, but still enjoy every moment of it. Life is full of foolishness and embarrassment, but one must embrace the reality of that in order to be comfortable with themselves if it does happen. It’s unavoidable. I also tapped, once again, into a different form of art making that I had never attempted before. I had never made an instrument before nor had I ever written a song, but I found out that it is indeed possible and, if done correctly, can be extremely fun (by ‘done correctly’ I mean with no constraints). Once again, my creativeness was put on the line and tested yet I was able to perform and meet the standards in my opinion. With each of these assignments I find myself tapping into my creativeness that was dormant for sometime. I find myself being pleased and excited when I complete each assignment. To be able to see a piece of work that was created by yourself that involved stretching your comfort zone, or even skill level, you have a new appreciation of satisfaction for yourself and that is what I felt after performing our song and instrument. It was embarrassing yet necessary and fun all in one. I feel more comfortable with myself and my confidence after this assignment.