LIVING AS A PASSIONATE ARTIST
by mac esposito

In a constant search for the balance between "Them" and "Us", We are struggling to be organized. We have been distracted in a world of fear and war by less important things. Atrocities like updates on celebrity’s personal lives, news media flooding our brains with the vague images of terrorism, idling us with internet, corporate television, movies and video games. All is not lost. We need to be reminded there are more important things to be concerned with -- elements that define human kind like passion, life and art. These together are what make the world go around, and we are trying to reinforce this message.

Love has many different meanings. This type of love is not in regards to your high school sweet heart as much as is the love for family, friends, your local and global community – the passionate type of love. Family isn't always there, in these cases an individual might refer to some close friends, room mates, in-law relatives as family. The love you share with your family could be expressed through helpful acts such as helping your mom when she is ill by cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry, etc. Expressing love for your friends can be found through caring acts such as driving an intoxicated friend home, even if it's 3 o' clock in the morning and you are tired. Love for your community may be as simple as not littering, and even help by picking up garbage left behind by others. Having love and passion for something in life is beautiful, but loving yourself comes first -- be proud of your accomplishments and be confident in who you are. If we can't love ourselves, we won’t be able to love others or have love for the things we do in life.

Life is huge and small at the same time; it is everything between complex and simple. Humans are on this world, a speck in the vast universe, without knowing exactly how or why, but have the ability to imagine and create. Some individuals find it hard to find a meaning in their lives because one may feel as his or her life is insignificant, but in the bigger picture our individuality is what makes this world, even though one person is small relative to the universe. It is easy to think that we are less than purposeful when messages of vanity and false realities are flashing the masses at an extraordinary rate. We can't take these messages for truth, for truth is what one believes it to be. Since we are here, the best of it should be made. And if not here, then where?

Creativity provides substance in one’s life, because using the imagination to create art is something all people can do. The term art shall be used freely. Art could be referring to the type in a museum, but the kind you create with your own hands is important to human existence because it is available for any being to utilize. Be passionate about what you create, because it is a reflection of who we are. The best art is controversial; through art human kind has made for change. Artists in history have been the ones to challenge public opinion, pushing the boundaries with their creations. May it be a protest folk song with clever lyricism and a catchy melody, a piece of counter-culture literature that invokes thought and offers a different perspective or even a comic book -- a story with pictures that illustrate ideas which through other media may not have the same message. The human mind has ability to produce anything, making it have revolutionary tendencies, but without focus it can idle to waste.

No one asked to live here on Earth. It must be our jobs as humans to keep it going and find that balance we so desperately need. The realities of the modern world can be horrifying, but they can also be wonderful. Let’s bring the wonderful side to the foreground and let it shine. Be passionate, creative and live as an individual.