Your silliest idea could flip the script!
You’re more creative than you think.
I'd always believe creativity saved me!
My ties with it began with stick figures, sunny mountains, little houses, and those classic garden doodles. With time, it grew into the hand-drawn gift of doodles paired with misspelled wishes, storytimes, and Balaramas! Oh, I can’t forget MAD on Pogo!
My parents thought signing me up for a summer art class might help me focus and sit still for a while. Not sure if it helped, but it lit my joy! I enjoyed everything about the colours, curiosity, the brush and crayon trials, the messy palette, and stuff! Perhaps it never felt like learning, but the joy of discovering a world that just felt home.
Turns out lil Anjali was quite the handful! I discovered my kindergarten photo with moustaches drawn over faculty who cut short my playtime with homework! (couldn’t stop laughing when my parents shared this, no joke!) Fun Fact: The twins in this were my first ever best friends, and we’re still in touch and met up at their wedding last year! <3
School was an absolute blast for me! I lived for everything outside the textbooks. Off-stage competitions, and such stuff! Winning was never the agenda, but participation for the matter of skipping classes was! Something that definitely shaped me to try new things without worrying about the outcome and to enjoy the nows!
Then into athletics. Me and my best friend, together. We’d compete in sprints for points, representing different houses. Slowly, basketball turned our happy accident. What began as a PT period activity and then lunch break games led us to basketball tournaments, shouting, and laughing over fouls and missteps. Maybe, trying something for fun can take you places you never planned to go. Oh, did I tell ya? She’s the first friend I made in 4th grade, and is still my go-to!!
Btw, I was always experimenting on the side. Ashtapadi, piano, drums, swimming, Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, you name it! I did my Arangetram in Carnatic music and joined Bharatanatyam the same day. Woo! The aim was never to master it, but to try and see what clicked. Nothing clicked. (Exactly why I could vibe with Kelly in seconds)
Just like most of y’all, the desks had a lot of contributions from my boredom and visual imagination! I had all the rage in the world for people who invented Maths and Science! My diary was a solace filled with poems, random stories, and life recaps, and one of my friends even printed a looong poem I wrote back then (they still have it). I’ve kept mine too. While I cringe hard reading it now, it was hella joy then!
Doing a bachelor’s in the heart of the city had its perks. Being part of the purchasing dept. for various programs likewise favoured me! By the time I started my small biz, I knew most shops around the local market. Where to source and why! After a name-hopping phase, I stuck to Sankalp (Acha’s suggestion, and he even drew it a logo). Shortly, I ran a pop-up sale at a flea, and also conducted an upcycling workshop for students and teachers. (yass! legit went from drawing moustaches on teachers to receiving happy feedback from them!)
Soon after I graduated, I knew B.Com wasn’t for me. I wanted something else—but didn’t know what (a classic me)! Taking a gap year was strictly off-limits. I was told I didn’t have time to “waste.” Just to keep up, I applied for an MBA where my friends studied! Just a day before my interview, I had to text my friend (another creative, ofc) for something else, and that convo ended up convincing me to join an art/design course, insisting that I didn’t need to be good at drawing to enroll in an arts school.
I skipped the MBA interview and never looked back! Enrolled on an arts school for master’s, and the tides turned. A world of digital art, theories, creative exercises, design thinking, plus much. For the first time, I chose the front row in classes for Krishand Sir’s sessions. He urged us to ask more questions (lots of whats and whys), and always spoke names in the rooms of opportunities. I’ll always remember him by that. An incredible mentor and a good friend! Indeed, the type world needs more of.
I diversified my small biz into illustrations, pendants, miniatures, magnets, bookmarks, cards, and whatnot! Everything, custom and hand-made, mostly thriving on referrals rather than inactive social media.
I often wear many hats, and things usually fall into place in surprising ways. First time I attended the meeting for a video content presenter role, and ended up working with the team as a content strategist! Another time, I showed up simply to wish someone a happy birthday and returned as part of an art exhibition team! Detours are my spotlight. I shine brightest when I’m off the map. What I thrive on are the tiny sparks; those strange, unexpected eureka moments that show up between the most bizarre in-betweens of life. And I’ve never felt sooo happier and liberated trying those!
“Creativity takes courage.” — Henri Matisse
I create as it feels true to me. Words and art have always helped me express things I can't explain. If I hadn’t trusted my gut and pursued my creative journey, I’d have regretted it all my life, stuck on a path that never truly felt like mine.
Those tiny or big paragraphs from someone sliding into my DMs, telling me my words inspired them to do something they’ve always wanted, tick off an old bucket list item, or make a small change in their life, mean the world to me. My heart does a lil happy dance each time something I’ve handmade becomes a part of someone’s special moment. That’s a win for me; no bonus or project recognition compares.
The kind of success only a few truly grasp.
Everyone’s born creative. Yes, you’re born with it!
You don’t have to be an artist to be creative. You just got to be ambiguous.
A lot abmiguitive. Creativity is the spark that makes your silliest ideas come alive. Something special that changes your life. A mindset. It’s how you move through life.
Sometimes, good things fall into your lap, seeming silly at first. Your most life-changing idea might spark while you’re in the shower, stuck in traffic, zoning out, or people-watching. Seemingly very ordinary, but if you give it time, come back to it, play with it, and see where it takes you, maybe it’d make all the difference. You never know until you experiment with it.
I hope you try a lot of things. Make a truckload of mistakes and fail much more.
Experiment with anything and everything that piques your mind.
Especially the ones that keep pulling you back.
What if the thing you most fear is meant for you?
If this sparked a memory, a silly story, or something you’ve always dreamed of trying, I’m all ears! 💌
♻️ restack if you think this might hit home for someone <3
You can always buy me a coffee! 💌 Much love and hugs!!
p.s. my stories always remain free for you, regardless.
You have embodied “Creativity takes courage”. Inspiring. Thank You.
Thank you for the inspiration Anjali and the reminder to play with my ideas! I love all your stories--I think my silly kid self could have been friends with your silly kid self.