Creativity is important for everyday people. It allows us to have the freedom to do something that will, in the end, make us proud, happy, and satisfied and it is important for us to do that with our own thoughts and ideas. This is what is known as authentic creativity.
Many people wonder about authenticity. Can anyone of us truly be authentic with the things that we do or create?
I want to have a little debate with this question. It is one that has troubled me for a few weeks and this is why.
I work at a call center. Work can be slow at times so I chat with colleagues about certain questions. The one that I did that day was, what do you value most in a person?
For the most part, what people said, I knew would come out. Some said kindness, honesty, a hard worker, but the one that really surprised me was authenticity.
I started wondering what it truly meant to be authentic and I wondered if anyone could be authentic in creativity.
That started me on this path, now let’s finish it for once and for all. First, in order to go on with this debate, we have to know what we are talking about. Authenticity is defined as, “something done in an original way.” This is the one I found, but if you look online, you can find hundreds of definitions as no one really knows what authenticity really is.
Authenticity isn’t real
Let’s start by looking at the argument, authenticity isn’t real. I mean, everything has already been done before. Who can say that something you might create hasn’t already been done?
This has been said many times through the internet. One person made the argument that all fiction we have that has been printed recently is fan fiction of past works. They gave examples of how 50 Shades of Grey is a fan fiction for Twilight and others including a novel called Paradise Lost that was published in 1667.
A YouTuber also commented on how nothing is original. In Thomas Sanders’s “Am I Original?” The whole video he tried to come up with a completely original video idea. At the end of the video, he concludes that nothing can be completely original. Complete authenticity is impossible.
I recently read a post from a blogger named Sharron Brand. Her post was about authenticity in the blogging industry. She said, “Authentic is to stand out. Authentic is to be different. Authentic is to be unique and original. And in this saturated world of influencers, being authentic doesn’t exist anymore.” This was interesting to me as she was saying that the blogging world is no longer authentic and it is just people, one after another, coping each other for likes and comments.
If bloggers are no longer authentic, what other creative sources are no longer authentic as well?
Authenticity is real?
What about the argument that authenticity is real and there is a way that you can be authentic in your creativity?
There is a definition of it that says that it should be genuine and true to yourself. If we don’t think about originality and instead think of creating something authentic as genuine and true then suddenly authenticity can become real.
Yes, there are paintings that copy other painters’ techniques, but that painting is different in its own creative way. Fan Fiction may be copies of other works, but those works are different from the original and show stories in a different light.
Even Thomas Sanders’s video says that creating things that are the same but different is actually good as you can’t have complete authenticity. As long as you don’t plagiarize, you are creating something new that will bring new ideas to the people around you.
Having your own style and voice can be hard as there are so many people around you that can influence the way we speak, dress, or create. Remember though that you are your own person with your own experiences and create off of what you have learned in life. It’s okay to gather inspiration, just remember that at the end of the day, what makes you the best person you are, is the best way to show your creativity.
We all have the same building materials but we each create something different.
So, what is the correct answer?
Can achieving authenticity when we create be possible? In my own opinion, I think it can be. Yes, it won’t be possible to have a completely new, amazing idea, but the way that we create can be based on our past and what we know in order to make old ideas become knew. It may take time to create your own voice or style. I know you can do it to become as authentic as you possibly can.
Thanks so much to brandtravels.com for the inspiration that lead me to write this post. If it wasn’t for your post, I don’t think I would have written mine. If you liked this and want to share another argument for which you think is true, comment down below and I promise I will like what you write. Read more posts about creativity this month before we move on to a new topic. Happy Creating!