it's all full of nothing salads

Last December, I received a particularly memorable comment on one of my videos on tiktok. I’ve had some very strange negative comments on my social media content over the years, but this one I reflect on more than most. The video was about my journaling ecosystem, and somehow garnered opinions on a wide range of topics from overconsumption to my body weight. This particular one referred to the folio I use for my creative writing projects:

Now, firstly, I have to admit that ‘nothing salads’ is a very funny phrase. It rings a little existential. I like that it was commented by cucumbers22230, and wonder if all of their insults are salad-themed.

I also enjoyed following the logic of the comment through to its conclusion: if adults have no “creative writing” projects, and, by extension, no creative projects in general, then every creative masterpiece in existence was brought into being by some maverick genius child. I’m tickled by the idea that Crime and Punishment was written by a very earnest, theologically minded 11-year-old; Raphael’s cherubs were actually self-portraits of the chubby prodigy toddlers who painted the Sistine Madonna.

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But this comment mainly made me genuinely sad. Whoever is behind cucumbers22230 seemed to be completely baffled that some adults choose to spend their free time being creative. Of course, there’s a good chance this specific commenter was just trying to wind me up (there’s always a good chance of that on tiktok). But I think the sentiment is depressingly common. Many people do think that creative pursuits are a waste of time. That it’s cringe to try to write, or paint badly, or be involved in your local theatre company beyond the age of twelve.

It’s a bit easy to mock such people. My initial reaction was to laugh, and then to feel a certain sense of superiority: you honestly can’t extend your imagination far enough to imagine an adult enjoying creative writing? Dear lord, what a sad little life, Jane.

But honestly, so many of us are never encouraged even to try to enjoy creating. Art, music, theatre, and creative writing are often things we have to do in school for a bit, but so many people will never touch them again after graduating. Rather than providing an opportunity to develop curiosity, community, and playfulness, learning such subjects becomes associated with assessment and whether or not someone is ‘naturally talented’. And even then, a majority of education systems seem to make it clear that these things are far less valued than other parts of their curriculum; sort of ‘add-ons’ to take part in once a week alongside your real schoolwork. You know, the proper subjects, like maths and science. The ones that lead to a real career.

So many of us stop believing that creativity is something adults are allowed to do simply because they enjoy it. Hobbies become things that should be monetised, mastered, turned into side hustles. If you're not trying to become exceptional at something, what's the point? We become remarkably good at justifying why we don't have time to make things anymore.

While cucumbers22230 did rile me up, maybe they were once a kid who loved to write stories. Or maybe they were never particularly interested in these things, but they were also never encouraged to give them a try anyway.

And you’re missing out on so much of life if you never try to create. Even if you have no hope or interest in trying to become a professional (or even very proficient) in any of these pursuits, there’s still so much to gain from just doing them. I don’t have any plans to try to publish any of my creative writing, and I didn’t write it with the hope of anyone reading it.

I write because I enjoy it; it lets me engage with the world around me in a different way. I notice people and places that spark ideas for a character or setting in a story, scribbling down ideas in my pocket notebook as I go about my daily life. I collect turns of phrase or overheard snippets of conversation that might make it into some writing. I don’t particularly care if the final product is polished or perfected. Maybe one day I will, but for now, it serves as an escape from the difficult parts of my life. Nobody else ever has to read it, and it’s wonderfully freeing to give myself permission to create for the sake of creating.

In fact, I think if you’re not any good at something like writing or painting or making music, there’s a bonus benefit: you get to learn that you don’t constantly have to produce great stuff to be a valuable human being. Spending some time just being human is a beautiful part of life.

If life is all full of nothing salads, art is the dressing that makes it worth eating.