In true overly cliché fashion, I will make the generic statement that history gets made every day. People are constantly innovating and creating and the results are beautiful. Brand new works of art that can be appreciated and can inspire others to do the same, and bring their unique voices to the world. The number of times I have heard a teacher say something was, “groundbreaking for its time” or read that a critic called something, “revolutionary” is probably too many to count. It’s the lasting power of these things that made their mark on the world that has me truly captivated. These people made history by the sheer progressivity of their work. Their legacy lies in their originality, the capacity to create something completely new. Fulfilling the hope of the creator to set themselves apart from the rest.

There is a certain beauty in taking the time to understand the lasting nature of these artistic feats. There is no charm in creating something hundreds upon thousands of people have already created before you. In fact, in this day and age we seem to have become more self-aware. Recognizing the repetitive nature of the works of those dubbed artists or creators, how they tell the same stories over and over again, use the same graphic design techniques to send the same message they always do. Painters who show us the same picture in different colors. Beautiful captivating images, well-told stories, but completely and totally forgettable in their redundancy and predictability. We want new stories, and new pictures, from new perspectives.

Jane Austen’s name is not widely known because she told us everything we already knew, the same way everyone else was already telling it. Her early stages of feminism have left a lasting impression on us as a society. She told tales of opinionated and strong women who were ahead of their time, who never settled for anything less than what they deserved. She was so successful, she paved the way for other women to tell their stories, and for others to not only her them, but willingly listen. I wonder if one day we’ll be talking about the Hispanic man from New York who wrote plays about Hispanics and founding fathers, and how it put hope and faith in the eyes of little brown kids everywhere, and let us know that our ideas are valid, and our possibilities unlimited. Learn about his impact on the artistic world.

I cannot paint, but I would love to tell the world my stories. I live in fear that one day I will be guilty of this pointless repetition. That teenagers will dedicate forums to dissecting them, and exposing the similarities of all my protagonists. I want to provide a perspective that I do not think is commonly found in mainstream media. Dedicate hours to lending a new voice to the world, and tell a story no one has ever heard before. So many stories exist, I know the chances of a completely and utterly original piece of work are slim, but I cannot fail if I do not try.