Total Pageviews

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Shyness and Self-expression



Been thinking a lot about the need for self-expression lately. What makes people want to create and share?

When in college learning to write for a living, we sometimes talked about why people write in the first place. Having been an introvert for much of my life to that point, my own pet theory went like this.

Shy people are keen observers of human nature. They may not appear to crave attention, but they learn a lot from the sidelines. They also file away plenty of honest detail. Through years of life off the mainstage, their need to create, express and share - kept in abeyance for so long - can become very strong. And if they find a medium that allows them some facility of expression, they have a pretty incredible stockpile of feelings to surface and stories to tell. They begin to risk and share - often with the flair and precision that take even their extroverted peers by surprise.

My son Ryan and I with Kina Grannis in Minneapolis
One of my favourite examples of this is Kina Grannis - one of the most prolific and creative artists on YouTube. Earlier this year, she completed an comprehensive tour of Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan and North America.

Her concerts are filled with more good vibes than you can imagine, and her "In Your Arms" jelly bean stop motion video is one of the most killer creative vids you've ever seen. The behind-the-scenes video tells the fascinating story of the year-long shoot.

Most importantly, watch the video above as Kina talks about a moment of epiphany when she knew she had to share.

Q: When did you know your need to share was bigger than your fear - or are you just realizing that now?

No comments:

Post a Comment