My favorite thing about art is that art is not just one thing. Many people hear the word art and think about the paintings and sculptures in museums from the greats before us, and they’re not wrong, that is art! But art doesn’t stop there. For me, art is hard to define. It’s more of a feeling, a concept than a physical, tangible thing. Art is the experiencing of life, and then the ability to share it with others, in whatever way that may be. Art captures a moment in time, an image, a feeling. That’s why there are so many mediums of art, not everyone experiences life in the same way, not everybody understands emotions in the same way. Artists can experience the same moment, and yet understand it and present it to others in completely different ways. If a painter and a writer take a stroll on the beach together, hand in hand, experiencing the same sunset, the same walk, when they get back home the painter may paint the sunset in all it’s glory, capturing the way the ocean reflects all the colors of the sky, and the way the sun dips below the the horizon line, while the writer may sit down to write and describe the feeling of the sand, soft under their heel but coarse between their toes, the sound of the waves as they lap against the shore, the tide sneaking towards them as the sun sets. The same moment can produce two entirely different pieces of art, and even then, viewers of that art may interpret it entirely differently. It’s beautiful how our minds work, and art is a peek into those minds that you can’t get any other way. As you may have guessed, my medium of choice is writing. I’ve wanted to be a creative writer since I was six years old, when I wrote and illustrated my first “book”, a story for my mother’s birthday, starring a seal who performed at a circus and longed for something he’d never known: the sea. I really haven’t quit writing since. Long-form, short-form, poetry, plays, I’ll write it all, and frankly, I want to write it all, for the rest of my life. I’ve been told again and again that creative writing isn’t a real job, that I should drop it and move on, find something more lucrative… but I always come back to writing. Writing is what fuels me, creatively, but really just in general. Writing is what gets me up in the morning, what brings me joy, and in a way, what makes me… me. My dream is to be a published author and share my writing with the world, and I know for that to happen, I need to continue to grow and improve as a writer. And this fall, I’m taking a big step towards that dream by attending Warren Wilson College to study creative writing. Never in my life have I felt more like I’m on the right path than I do right now, and I cannot wait to share my art, in all its forms, with the world. I want to write for myself, of course, but also for everyone who can relate to my experiences, who see themselves in my characters, who need to feel just a little less alone during a tough time. I hope this isn’t the last piece of my writing you stumble across, and thank you for taking the time to read it. Just knowing that someone did makes all the difference.

"Those who are pregnant in the body only, betake themselves to women and beget children-this is the character of their love; their offspring, as they hope, will preserve their memory and giving them the blessedness and immortality which they desire in the future. But souls which are pregnant-for there certainly are men who are more creative in their souls than in their bodies conceive that which is proper for the soul to conceive or contain. And what are these conceptions?-wisdom and virtue in general. And such creators are poets and all artists who are deserving of the name inventor. But the greatest and fairest sort of wisdom by far is that which is concerned with the ordering of states and families, and which is called temperance and justice. And he who in youth has the seed of these implanted in him and is himself inspired, when he comes to maturity desires to beget and generate. He wanders about seeking beauty that he may beget offspring-for in deformity he will beget nothing-and naturally embraces the beautiful rather than the deformed body; above all when he finds fair and noble and well-nurtured soul, he embraces the two in one person, and to such an one he is full of speech about virtue and the nature and pursuits of a good man; and he tries to educate him; and at the touch of the beautiful which is ever present to his memory, even when absent, he brings forth that which he had conceived long before, and in company with him tends that which he brings forth; and they are married by a far nearer tie and have a closer friendship than those who beget mortal children, for the children who are their common offspring are fairer and more immortal. Who, when he thinks of Homer and Hesiod and other great poets, would not rather have their children than ordinary human ones? Who would not emulate them in the creation of children such as theirs, which have preserved their memory and given them everlasting glory?" In this passage from Plato's Symposium, Diotima, the only woman present at the symposium, speaks on the nature of love, attempting to redefine the concept of "procreation," arguing that the creation of lasting works offers an immortality that biological reproduction isn't able to. Diotima compares creativity to parenthood and lasting works to procreation, as she refers to biological offspring as "mortal children" and creative works as "immortal children." She seems to view creative endeavors as the superior form of "procreation," as she describes the lasting effects of things like writings and art as "everlasting glory" that lives on far after you are no longer of this world, while our mortal children will eventually pass on as well. Diotima references poets like Homer and Hesiod in order to prove her point, and I think it does a good job; when we hear of Homer and Hesiod, we think of their writings that have left such an impact on history, not of their children, despite the fact that they are both believed to have had them. She describes creative individuals as being "pregnant in the soul", further pushing the parallel between motherhood and creativity. Diotima also seems to imply that relationships that produce art rather than actual offspring are more passionate, longer-lasting. She describes relationships that focus on creative reproduction as "far nearer" and as "leading to closer friendship" than those that focus on physical reproduction. Not only does she view "immortal children" as more significant in society than their mortal counterparts, but in love as well. Diotima's monologue gives us an interesting view into Plato's own thoughts on humans' innate desire for immortality, seemingly suggesting that our lifelong search to leave a legacy behind could be a driving force for creativity.