A little note on creativity then and now

You know, when I sit down to write or draw something these days, my mind is blank. Of course, my mind ISN’T actually blank — it’s actually in hyperactive overdrive mode vigilantly checking around me for situations to be aware of, and the endless list of responsibilities I have on my plate. 

It’s really quite wild. About ten years ago, I feel like I was a different person. Well, same person…but different. I had no money, not much of a sense of urgency, a big open mind, and most relevantly, ideas and creativity gushing out of me. I felt as though I had a new project idea nearly every other day. I’d share them enthusiastically on the then-supportive Twitter, to followers who’d give me feedback and show interest. 

As an aviation nerd, I had a project called “Take Flight Project” where I sent interesting people I met on Twitter a questionnaire about a flight that changed their life and posted them on Tumblr. I attempted to start a magazine called “Globalizer” which I had dreams of turning into a Monocle-style thing. On my old Instagram, I did a “Summer of Type” where I did lettering and posted it daily. 

The story of what happened from me then to me now isn’t something I’ll dive too deeply into here. But I should perhaps note that the title of this website, Mind the Globe, is from that era. I originally started this as a weekly newsletter showcasing interesting / cool / unique cultural things from around the world. I used Mailchimp to manage emails, and I sent the emails to a handful (a growing handful, but a handful nonetheless) of people. 

I chose the name “Mind the Globe” because I was trying to be a little cheeky — I didn’t know what all the contents of this website would be, but I did know that I wanted it to be about different world and global things — music, art, language stuff, design stuff, urban planning stuff, cultural things. And as someone who’s moved to tears by these kinds of things regularly, it was (and is…tbh) a dream to share my love for these things with the everyone. 

Anyway, I’m low-key digressing. I guess where I was going with this is that I’m rehashing a bit of the past, looking for clues on what it was, that allowed me to be free-flowing with ideas and creativity. Perhaps I’m looking back with rose-tinted glasses in a way, as I have now a lot f things I didn’t then. 

But that spark…that drive…that excitement. It’s inside, we just gotta dredge it up a little.