My place in the CREATIVE world

In looking at tables 5.1 and 5.2, I possess many of the qualities of the personality traits AND the negative traits. This surprised me because I do not think of myself as overly creative—mostly just averagely creative. Having said that, though, these tables contain MANY qualities, and the possibility of someone finding traits that resonate with them are high. Also, some of the qualities might indicate creativity in particular instances, but potentially not always. For example, under high energy in table 5.1, impulsive is a trait. I agree that creative people might be impulsive, but being impulsive does not necessarily indicate creativity. As I find qualities that I possess on these lists, I do not think that alone fact “makes me creative.” I have, though, recognized that I am more creative than I might have thought before this class started. J

One of the most interesting parts of Davis chapter 5 was the birth order section. I am very close with my family, and we have all sorts of thoughts on how birth order has shaped our relationships and personalities. Additionally, I just read an article in Time Magazine about parental favoritism and how birth order and gender plays into that, so I have had birth order on the mind all week.

I am the oldest girl of three children (I am followed by a girl, then a boy) and I am ALL “oldest sister” in so many ways. I play peace maker, role model, big sister, pieces-picker-upper-when-things-fall-apart, I-have-2-years-on-you-so-let-me-share-my-wisdom-er, road paver, and people pleaser. To add to things, I was the first grandchild, so my whole extended family sees me as “the oldest.” Because of this, I definitely received LOTS of attention as a child. I was read to the most, held the most, payed attention to in a one-on-one basis the most, etc. As Davis says, “first and only children are more anxious, conforming, passive, and worried about failure” (Davis, 2004, p. 99). This is me to a T! All I ever want is people to like me. However, Davis says that this often leads to a more academically focused child. This is NOT my role in my family.

I think what happened in my family is that (Laughlin, if you are reading this, sorry… hahah) I was born and was the favorite by default—there were no other options! When my younger sister Laughlin was born 2 years later, she immediately felt that she needed to find a way to become the favorite. She did this by pitching a lot of fits, crying a lot, and eventually becoming excellent at everything she did. Anyone will tell you that she is the more academic child (both because she studies more and harder AND because she is simply smarter), she is more athletic, and her room is ALWAYS cleaner. I think in response to HER role, I took on the “creative child” qualities. If I couldn’t be the smartest or fastest, I would paint the prettier pictures. Our mom is EXTREMELY creative, and, taking after her in so many other ways, I guess I picked this up too. I loved art in school, scrapbooked every trip I have ever taken, and just loved “crafting” in general. Beyond the arts, my creativity has reached into many of the qualities from table 5.1 such as imagining as a child, reflective, sensitive, emotional, and empathetic. Laughlin got more of the “risk taking” qualities, and is much more independent.

I think birth order is an extremely interesting concept to study, and I think it is interesting how it plays into so many aspects of our lives. What is even cooler is that as we get older, our birth order roles will continue to change. What being the oldest NOW means is different than what it will mean in our lives in 15 years.