WHY I CREATE (July Challenge)

This month, in honor of PLAY, some of us here at I AM Global are doing a simple exercise, based on a piece I once read called “Why do I write.” The piece was simple in its execution, simply a stream of consciousness list of over 100 reasons across four pages of why they write.

Which brings us to our prompt for the month: “Why do I create?”

We invite you, too, to participate in this form of play. You can sit somewhere you like and just start writing, stream of consciousness style, saying things even if they aren’t true, just to see what you create. You might just find something that surprises you about yourself!

Why I Create

By Brando

I create for validation. I create to be seen and heard. I create so others can be seen and heard. I create to climb mountains. I create to fly through space. I create to find stillness. I create to leave my mark on this world. I create to birth a physical thing that can only exist because of my energy, time, and effort. I create to build. I create to start conversation. I create to articulate feelings and abstractions. I create to heal wounds. I create to bridge the gap between people. I create so others know they aren’t alone. I create because I want to. I create because it’s where people having given me special attention. I create because I don’t think I can do anything else. I create because it’s in my blood. I create because my father, mother, grandparents all did it too. I create to hold a mirror to society. I create to give voice to an experience within my communities. I create to inspire others to speak their truth and step forward. I create to be vulnerable, exposing myself. I create to collaborate. I create to overcome shame. I create to be closer to my version of God. I create because it’s my purpose. I create because I am human. I create to tolerate part time jobs I don’t enjoy. I create to add complexity to my life. I create to experience empathy. I create instead of sabotaging myself through harmful behavior. I create to channel spirits. I create to connect to my higher power.

I create to have fun. I create to play and explore. I create to feel like a kid again. I create to process my experiences. I create so others can feel. I create to triumph over hardship. I create to share with friends. I create to bond. I create to be the best. I create to win adoration and admiration. I create to rebel against those who have told me not to. I create so others can do what they love without fear or shame. I create to pass the time. I create to grow. I create to get revenge on that girl in 5th grade who told me I ruined the school play because I forgot to say my line. I create to immortalize myself and have a legacy. I create to have kids someday. I create because others believe in me. I create because i don’t want to let people down. I create to feel passion. I create to live. I create to experience fullness. I create to surprise myself. I create to tell stories. I create to convey meaning in speech. I create because why not, what else would I do. I create because I am compelled to. I create to brag and show off. I create to be someone else. I create to discovery new elements to myself. I create to receive compliments. I create to be larger than life. I create to hide. I create to dismantle structures of power. I create to understand my experiences. I create to pass time on the A train at 3AM on a Thursday trying to get home. I create to feel productive. I create to stay busy. I create to avoid intimacy with friends and family. I create because it’s the only way to create intimate relationships. I create to let out all the ideas in my head. I create to make new friends. I create to find where my old friends have been.

I write to be someone else. I write to be powerful. I write to live in another world, more extravagant, more wondrous, more vibrant, more freeing than my own. I dance to speak my truth through my sweat. I dance to teach my body a movement that has never existed before. I sing to fill the shower. I sing to have intimacy. I speak to defy demons. I paint to awaken the keeper of my dreaming mind. I dance to electrify. I speak to glorify. I write to build legacy. I draw to pass the time. I direct to bring the Muses’ vision to life because they have no tangible hands to hold a camera. I perform to understand. I perform to comprehend. I perform because I exhausted all my other options. I perform so you can do what you do.

I create because of friends cheering me on along the way. I create because of people ignoring me at shows. I create because of that one time that one guy said something about my voice being too low and I should have prepared more. I create to influence. I create to change. I create because I am a creator. I create because it’s who I am. I create because I create. I create because creating is what ALL humans do. I create because my horoscope said I should. I create because the moon is full. I create because I watched a couple have an argument in the middle of a packed subway car and I had something to say about it, but knew it wasn’t the best idea to say it to their face. I create because of you.

Brandon “Brando” Rumaker is a free-spirited human who embraces all forms of artistic expression with passion! He illuminates the space between us all, promoting creatives who act boldly and advocating for those not currently able to. Brings the joy and the weird and the truth, all while in album mode. Facilitator of I Am Series Global: Artist Circle & Editor-in-Chief of I Am Series Global: Blog. Man behind Kennedy Sycamore. @brandotheoriginal