The Courage to Create

I have always been a writer, but there was a time when I was afraid to share my work. Words are powerful. I realized this from the start. I just didn’t know how others would view the words I had written. But then I realized something. I don’t write to be perfect. I write because I have something to share about an experience that didn’t have a movie-script ending. I write to heal, and others can benefit from hearing my story.

The Gracie Awards give women the courage to share; to put the projects they have invested themselves into on display. The process of creating the project may not always be beautiful. Creativity is a messy, garbled mix of torn notebook pages and sleepless nights, but the end result is satisfying because of the journey. I can now say I am no longer afraid of the process.

What I saw when I attended The Gracies Luncheon was a group of women who know how hard it can be to create, but who have decided not to turn away from the challenge. I was extremely nervous the night before the event. I would be dining with the women who define today’s media, and I didn’t know how I would fit. I forgot everyone sitting in this room started somewhere small. They kept working and climbing until they were at the top of their field. It’s inspiring to be around a community like this. I know, for every second I doubt my abilities as a journalist, there is a woman out there who has shoved the thought aside and kept going. This is an idea that makes everything worth it. I know I can give up on myself, but there will always be someone who knows I am more than the sum of red-dashed pen lines on copy. Sometimes all we need is to know our work has affected someone, somewhere. After all, we don’t create for ourselves. We create to share our knowledge with others.

The Gracie Awards remind us of why we do this work. They bring us together to appreciate the visionaries of our time and the risks they’ve taken to get to this point. We need never be afraid because we are never alone. We can stand on the shoulders of the women who came before us, because we are a part of the generation who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.

Jamie Brian is a sophomore global communication major at Kent State University who enjoys exploring the world around her and trying to put it into words.