Most of the things that we carry have a significance to them. Some of us carry things to remember something. Others may carry something because it brings them pleasure. In my case, the most significant thing I carry happens to fulfill both of the purposes I’ve listed. The item I carry helps me keep my ideas in a more logical fashion, suited for my own needs and preferences. I also enjoy the way my item lets me transfer my ideas into the real world.

What I carry is paper. Paper is important to me because it is, most often, the format I use to express my ideas. Paper; a thin two dimensional plane with limitless potential. I can make a three dimensional sketch on my paper, a design or a blueprint, for constructing my ideas in the real world. Or I can take the opposite route and construct an idea exclusively of words, utilizing my intense, meaningful verbalization skills, and effectively forcing a plot, with its own separate timeline, to be created, and exist within your imagination.

 Another tool I use to achieve this feat of creativity, is the pencil, or pen. Depending on the types of ideas going on my paper, the weight of my ink, or graphite in most cases, will fluctuate, getting heavier the more raw and unsettling, sad, truths are fed to your brain, and lighter the more I have fun and make loose, incoherent statements and art. I try to have an even balance between the types of things I express but I usually tend to sway on a more abstract way of thinking.

The ideas I document in my drawings and writings are influenced by my perception of different experiences, my emotions, and can also function as a problem solving method. When Important, I try my best to document realizations, and reflections I make about my own actions and their resulting reactions, and the actions and reactions I see around me, in whatever ways I see fit. This can include human interaction, nature, or simple thought processes and philosophies.

The way I feel may also influence how I create. For example, if I’m feeling down, I might describe why I feel that way, or specifically how it feels. I might use symbolism in my art to help you understand or evoke the emotions I’m feeling. I may make you feel the same way as you might in my situation, without knowing the details or even having a clue what happened in my life, using an in-depth description of a feeling or simply by using a metaphor or simile.

When I use my item, I can calm down and focus, allowing me to properly evaluate a situation by forcing myself to write about the main points; It’s cathartic for me to use what I carry. It brings me joy to know that I can exist eternally, without confines, within the pieces I create. In a way, I’m creating the world around me in a format that I, and others like me, may find easier to understand or maybe even more interesting.