It wasn't until recently that I realized that much of the room for creativity in a standardized school system diminishes after we enter high school. As we grow up, courses become more geared towards test preparation and it's difficult to fit electives that may interest us into our schedules because of graduation requirements. Writing classes that used to be centered on fabricating narratives and poems become more targeted towards writing formulaic essays.

The weekly art and music classes that we all used to go to in elementary school disappear and eventually, all we are left with are structured courses, which rarely have flexible projects. Although I have nothing against the basis of our secondary education system, I do believe that there is room for improvement, specifically with regards to injecting more opportunities to foster the creativity instilled within developing students.

In a talk with Sir Ken Robinson, an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity and human resources, he discusses how, "I work a lot with Fortune 500 companies and they're always saying, "We need people who can be innovative, who can think differently." If you look at the mortality rate among companies, it's massive. America is now facing the biggest challenge it's ever faced: to maintain it's position in the world economies. All these things demand high levels of innovation, creativity and ingenuity. At the moment, instead of promoting creativity, I think we're systematically educating it out of our kids."

Robinson urges for school systems to teach creativity - which is not an impossible feat. Creativity exists within every realm, from the sciences to the arts. The core of the issue to teach students how to think differently and introduce them to a medium where they can explore their own personal ideas. By letting kids express themselves with a certain level of freedom, they are more likely to come up with unprecedented solutions to our world's problems and ultimately, they will be living a life with purpose and passion.