The Importance of Self Expression

I am back from my trip from Puerto Rico. It was very fun and relaxing to travel to another country and witness the cultures and differences of other people. They have the Latin American vibe there with life in a fused American culture as well. It is different to see the line that this country is in, seeing it in both the Latin American side as well in the developed country which it is. Though this may seem promising to English speaking people, I see a lack of nationality for these people since they wish to be part of the US but still their own sovereign country. Individualism is what should define people, and the change that we undergo should be for self-improvement rather than that or a need of acceptance.

This is where I also realized another disturbing image in the corporate American environment we all wish to flourish in. In order to go on this vacation I had to plan ahead, find out if I had enough vacation days, and make adjustments at work. We work more than twice of our vacation days, or of our days of relaxation. What is horrific about the situation as that all that we do is complain. There is no other alternative to this cycle of corporate narcissism. We get off by saying how late we stay at work and how good we do on project which help improve the corporate structure or, “Is this good for the company,” that we lose sight of the realism of life. I am not saying I am not happy to be home, or that I want more vacation, but that the current environment which exists does not aid in the individualistic self-growth.  We have to keep postponing that trip to Europe or not go to the movies that day to finish a document, even though being exposed to those things would give a different perspective in life. Another way to go through self-examination also could be a near death experience, which we would be excused for.

Again, being held back by a system which only cares about its self sickens me to such an extent that I cannot lack to find any comprehensibility to it. I can never find any justification as to why there is a hole in individual improvement and self-discovery. With that being said, I realize why music is such a major factor in my life. Through this entire convoluted and superficial model of America, I find the coping with it not through the miniscule financial gain but through an art form.

Music is an art, with each instrument acting as a tool for which to create a piece or an entire art form. In the same essence it is difficult to master and takes time to perfect the original image that was what you wished to portray, but it could be accomplished with an investment in time. There is the reality and difficulty in being an artist or an expressionist, the time required versus the time allotted to perfect it and mold it into more than just an idea is not given in the current corporate environment. It is nearly impossible to live while creating your individualistic art, but once it is completed, against all odds, means something more than the small achievements in other aspects of what people would call, “the real world.” Though I do not have the time to learn and instrument I am an admirer of others art and am able to live through it. I am going to one day pick up one of the tools for self-expression and conjure up what I wish to express in a form which I see fit.

The feeling and achievement of finally being able to use more than just words to demonstrate an emotion is something which is not only creative, but an essence into inner realizations. By this I mean that the tools used are modeled in a certain way to be used, but through expression we can use them however we want, and in whichever way we see fit to constitute what we see as an expression. This picture is a vivid example.  It is not really that open to interpretation but you are shown a distorted, discoloured, and broken image than the original photograph. In traditional art some of us may see a disarrangement of shapes and figures, another may see a portal into another world, or find an ease, or a concealed anger.  We all interpret things differently and take art each to an individual depth, and my depth is profound. It means more than just noises but a harmony of people collaborating to inspire and move me. Their goal may be financial gain to an extent but the reason to why art exists is for expressing yourself to the world.

Traditional art has many mediums just as music does as well. Each medium satisfies us in collecting and holding onto this expression in any way we see fit to us and depending on how deep that art is, through virtual downloads, CD’s, USB’s, or Vinyl’s.  This is why I collect Vinyl’s; they are a physical and actual fabrication which are mementos to moments in my life which have a high value to me.  Music is the art form which keeps me sane in this constraining and suffocating world full of corporate greed and profit. Without music I would lack the small amount of Nirvana I have.

(The picture was that of Alison Mosshart performing in The Dead Weather)