In fourth grade, my friends and I came up with the genius idea to base our talent show skit on an inside joke. Our class had this weird obsession with eggs, so we wrote and performed a skit called “Poor Nellie Eggleton,” in which a very disoriented girl name Nellie wakes up choking on an egg.
The following sequence of events are similarly cringe-worthy and filled with egg-related humor, which has only ever existed in the context of my fourth grade class. The talent show was a much wider audience, and the joke was — shockingly — lost on them.
It’s usually never a good idea to base comedic material off an inside joke, considering the audience will not understand it. But that happened to be where our creative inspiration came from at the time. Even still, we had fun writing the skit, putting on our intricate costumes and performing it.
I can still remember the details of how it happened. I remember pitching the idea to a teacher, my excitement about the performance during lunch, feeling crippling fear immediately before the talent show and the sense of accomplishment when it was over. However, I can also remember no one laughing.
Creativity strikes an interesting balance between what will appeal to the masses and what will appeal to the individual. Not all art is appreciated by everyone. In fact, I think it would be pretty safe to say that no piece of art is appreciated by everyone. This raises the question of why people create anything at all.
For some, art is the novel representation of an issue that needs addressing. For others, creativity comes out of the personal passion to design something in their own unique style. Some might create for themselves, never revealing their ideas to the masses.
No matter the inspiration, it is more or less irrelevant if others value one’s artistic work. It is often desired, but most of the time, art is not solely created for the purpose of mass entertainment. There is usually some alternate motivation that is more important than the approval or acceptance of the public.
With that being said, creative works are based on the hope that others will also appreciate them. Performers crave validation for their work, whether or not that’s why they do what they do. When people clap and laugh or react in some way to a creation or performance, it is a wonderful, fulfilling feeling. And when they don’t, it’s discouraging.
Not only do we want to create something widely regarded as amazing, but we want to do it again. Everyone wants a hit. But no one wants to be a one-hit wonder. After receiving consistent, positive feedback about your creations, it can become stressful to live up to the hype. It feels great having achieved what you desired, but then the stress of maintenance occurs.
When the next piece or performance is not as good as the first, it often feels like you’ve lost the craft or were never as good as you thought you were. You feel like you were lucky the first time, not talented.
It’s a disheartening feeling that can impact your passion for the work. In these cases, it’s important to remember that validation is not the main reason why creativity is admirable or important.
Excitement and devotion to a project don’t come from others unless you give them the power to do so. It’s easy to get caught up in the desire for approval, but it can be consuming and debilitating.
No one laughed at “Poor Nellie Eggleton,” but I’m OK with that. It’s an entertaining memory that I only remember because it was a creative, embarrassing trainwreck. And that is fine with me.
