Ever since I was in elementary school, Minecraft has been a very important part of my life. Many aspects of Minecraft are important to me, such as exploring the different biomes, mining in the caves, collecting flowers, and taming animals, but nothing is quite as special as playing Minecraft with my friends. From building together in creative mode, to trying to survive the night in survival, my most fond memories of Minecraft involve playing with my friends in some way or another. Playing a game everyone in the group enjoys together is an amazing way of building community, friendships, bonds, and special moments to be remembered for years to come. Playing Minecraft together helps teach teamwork, and allows us to share our creativity in our builds. It allows for inside jokes to be created, and gives us fun stories to share with each other and remind each other of, time and time again. It can allow us to reach larger goals than we could alone, and lets us have more fun in the process. One particular instance I remember fondly was when I was playing with my younger brother. After watching a few videos about it on Youtube, we decided that we wanted to build a map for a mini-game. We didn't have any way to put it online, and the map never actually got finished, but we both put a lot of creativity and effort into it. We built giant statues of people, a beanstalk in reference to Jack and the Beanstalk, giant flowers, mountains, rivers, and a lot of other builds. We also hid chests from each other and had a lot of fun trying to find the chests and seeing what was inside. My favorite part of it all was getting to talk with him about what we were building at the time, and bouncing ideas off of each other. Builds like this were what inspired my drive to create art that brings people together, just like how Minecraft brought me and my siblings together.

Creativity is one of the most important parts of the human experience. Without creativity, our world is lifeless and boring. Creativity allows us to see the beauty in the world and look at it with awe and wonder, and it allows us to give life meaning. It is a muscle intrinsic to being human, one that must be exercised regularly, and one that greatly improves one's quality of life. Creativity is a messenger. It allows us to bare our souls to one another, in ways we otherwise wouldn't be able to. It lets us express sentiments that we simply couldn't with regular words. It tells us tales of what life is like for other people, what life used to be like in the past, and what it would be like if we let ourselves dream a little more, if we tried to make things better. Alternatively, it tells us tales of how things could go wrong and how we can try to avoid it. Creativity connects us all to each other. It reveals our similarities, our shared experiences and emotions and thoughts. It is what allows us to discuss what it means to be human, to be a part of the world that we know. It reveals our connections to every single thing in this universe, from the great stars above us to the tiniest of the ants below. It is something that we all share, no matter how much one uses or doesn't use it. Creativity is a vessel. It is a vessel for self expression and exploration, a vessel for messages, a vessel for emotions, a vessel for viewing the world we know. It is endless metaphors for every thought, every experience, every feeling, metaphors that contain so much humanity. It is a vessel for hope, for understanding, for courage, for loss, for despair. It is a vessel for pieces of our subconscious that we may not even be aware of yet. Creativity is a relief. It eases pain and heartache, and creates an outlet for it. It creates an escape from the mundane and boring aspects of life, as well as the painful ones. It allows one to cope with grief and traumas, and helps one go through hard times in life. It creates joy, hope, courage, and catharsis that allow people to continue fighting against the rough patches. Creativity is in everything we do. Every building, every invention, every word we say. It is in the clothes we wear, the way we look at a beautiful flower, the way we choose to communicate our thoughts. It is in every laugh, every joyful moment, every joke shared. It is in every story we share, whether it is true or not. It is in every photo we take, no matter how unimportant it may seem. It is everything to me.