Fear. We’ve seen it since a young age. The anxiety of taking home that final report card, the constant worry about what our teachers must think, or worse, what our parents will think once they open them. Does getting a two out of four on the performance scale in third grade make us instant failures? Fast forward a quick fifteen years, where those worries and anxieties take a more active role in our lives because the “real world” is only an arm's reach away. Should we have tried a little harder to get that A in Intro to Geography instead of settling for a B? Because there’s no way anyone will want to hire someone who’s ever gotten a B! These fears exist in just about everything we do, and we cannot seem to escape them. Despite how irrational they may be, these feelings are completely justified, and know that you are in great company with so many others that experience fear in their daily lives. If you try your best to confront fear of any situation with determination and eagerness, in result, creativity can be fostered. Embrace the fear. Feed off it. Build on it.

Creativity can be displayed in just about anything. It can accentuate things like art and music, but it can also sprout from things like fear. Embrace that idea. Like a chameleon changing colors when a predator is approaching, creativity can quickly take over any sign of fear, if you let it. The difference between us and the chameleon is that we can differentiate situations of actual danger, and situations we can embrace and use to our creative advantage. Furthermore, our signs of danger also differ. They see danger, and out of fear of death, camouflage themselves. Whereas we see danger in terms of potential failure and mistakes, and want to hide ourselves from the unknown as a result. What's important to remember is that there will always be moments in life where you, like the chameleon, want to quickly change your appearance in order to avoid the fearful unknown, but it's when you harness the courage to take it head on that creativity can really sparkle.

Now, why does any of this actually matter to you? Does facing your fears and trying to maintain creativity actually matter to get through college? Honestly, no. You can get through college in many different ways, and you better believe I've tried a lot of them. Doing the bare minimum, sticking with the norm, or allowing your fears to consume you are all possible ways to still obtain a degree. You can still be successful without being creative or facing your fears, but I promise that your college experience will become worthwhile if you do. Maybe not instantly, but sooner or later you'll be thanking yourself for taking the leap of faith. Feeding off the fears of life and thus allowing creativity to shine through, results in extreme amounts of self growth, and when those applications are built on there is even more room for creative success. Recognizing that life comes with all sorts of inevitable fears is crucial.

Take those fears for what they are: inspiration. Confront them fearlessly, and don't let them get the best of you. It really is true that you can do anything you set your mind to, all your have to do is try.