You’re seven years old. In your house, there is always a sense of anger in the air that you can’t quite understand.

You tense up every time something has seemingly gone wrong again. For some reason, it seems like your at fault when the bills go unpaid, when the grocery cart has to be left at the store, when someone leaves again. 

In the childlike moments where you do feel a spark of joy, you bury the sensation deep, as you feel responsible to stay in the despair of the family mood. Day to day, nothing quite seems safe – it all feels very temporary. The houses, the figures, even the quick unintended emotional blows.

You wish someone would take you into a figurative castle where you could unbury your sparks of joy and play in peace. 

You try to make sense of it all, but your parents can’t help you – as they’ve also buried their joy and their creativity too deep to relate to you.

Without being asked, you put on your superhero cape and begin to entertain the world. The feedback of impression is addictive, so you keep the party alive. You choose to be solely responsible for raising your family’s joy meter so everyone’s sparks of joy can finally come out and play.

Later in life, when you reflect upon your childhood, you see more joy than you gave it credit for. You remember the funny moments. You feel successful in your attempts to make it easier for your joy deprived parents, and you realize they did the best they could.

You come to note you’ve never quite left the stage. Though you will eventually retire your mask, entertaining others has become you mission. You’ve taken your broken path and chosen to become whole.

Artists, Writers, Directors, Dancers – Creatives. We have chosen to be the ones to raise the joy meter of the world, using our broken paths to make everyone whole again.