Still That Girl
Some things never change, even when everything else does.
I initially had a hard time coming up with a title to capture the essence of my journey so far as a creative, but after the initial struggle, I decided to use the name of the song that I made a music video for in my first filmmaking class at university.
The song Still That Girl by Britt Nicole has been a tremendous source of comfort for me ever since I first heard it in 2013, because it beautifully expresses the beauty of the "golden thread" that is woven into my life:
The endless grace of an unchanging God in the unpredictable life of a girl who believed she could change the world.
Change has been a constant in my life—so much so that I didn't realize it until it was pointed out to me by others. These numbers might paint a clearer picture for you:
6 - The number of cities I've lived in.
7 - The number of houses I've called home.
8 - The number of schools I've been to.
If I had to describe my life in one word, it would be this:
Surprising.
I recently discovered that I am what they call a "Third Culture Kid." I was born in Chennai, India, but I spent the majority of my life in the Middle East, in a country called Oman. I have now lived in Canada since 2017, and it's safe to say that I never expected any of this.
Countless people, places, possessions, and memories have made themselves at home in my heart because it is the only place that I can go back to to find them. After all these years of change, every constant in my life has become such a precious gift that I fear losing it too. My relationship with God and my love for my family have grown stronger because of this reality: they are the few constants left in my life.
Knowing this, I feel that, instead of describing the role that change has played in my life, it would be more meaningful for me to share the significance behind what has stayed the same.
The surprising constants in the creative journey that God has taken me on:
Empathy, Ideation, and Multi-Passions.
Storytelling + Imagination = Empathy
I found this email that I had received in 2013, when I was 12 years old, from a then-close friend of mine. We knew each other from travelling back and forth between home and school together in the same van. Somehow, I ended up becoming the official storyteller for the kids in the van. The story she is referring to must have been one of the many that I would have told them. Every day, I would either continue where I had left off in a series of episodes or introduce them to a new world of characters on a more challenging quest. They were made on the spot, I’m pretty sure, and they only lasted as long as those drives. She must have sent me this email after she had moved to a different country to hear the end of the last story I had told her. I replied that I would share it with her, but I'm afraid I forgot to follow up on her request. I apologize for the cliffhanger, Harshaa!
Where do I even begin?
I have always had a limitless imagination. From a very young age, I began to see the world through the lens of all that could potentially exist and not just what already did.
What others identified as trees, I saw as beautiful homes for colonies of magical fairies that resided on their swaying branches. What others thought were leaves, to me, looked like injured patients in need of immediate medical care. I would quickly apply creams and ointments to them for their scars to heal.
Seeing all of these invisible communities led me to imagine the interactions of the different characters that existed in the imaginary worlds I created. I ended up loving the experience of sharing the stories that I had created in my head with others just as much as I had enjoyed the process of coming up with them.
Now, if you combine that unhindered imagination with a passionate love for storytelling, what do you think you would get?
Storytelling and imagination are core aspects of my creative identity because they blossomed into other passions and strengths that I would have never expected to have, such as public speaking, graphic design, creative writing, songwriting, photography, and most importantly, empathy.
In a way, empathy is like playing pretend. In that moment, we put ourselves in someone else's shoes and imagine what life would be like if we were them. In other words, we pretend to be what we are not, like a child calming her crying baby doll.
But empathy is more than just playing pretend because it dives deeper than the surface level to understand the significance behind and consequences resulting from others' unique experiences. It temporarily lends us a new worldview so that we begin to see strangers as more than just skin, limbs, and muscles—but as profound, priceless creations with unimaginable stories that have shaped them into who they are. We take the time to put ourselves in their stories for just a little while—stories we would have otherwise never had the chance to experience.
2. Originality & Ideation
When I was 4 years old, in kindergarten, we were asked to draw a cartoon character for an assignment in art class. My mother, to prepare me for this test, taught me how to draw Noddy, the main character of one of my favourite cartoons at the time. According to my mother, despite having practiced drawing him, I went ahead and did something completely out of my imagination on the day of the test. She said that the teacher called her to ask her what I had drawn, because it definitely wasn't a cartoon character, and my decision to be creative had prevented me from placing first in the class. According to my mother, I drew several boxes on the page with little characters in them, and each of the boxes were connected by lines.
Today, my mom laughs every time she shares this story because she knows that my desire for creative freedom did not end there. I obviously don't remember any of this, but I find it easy to believe that this happened because nothing has changed since then.
I was born with an irresistible desire to come up with the most unique and innovative response to every question, be it through writing, design, or any other form of creative expression. I'm glad I have this anecdote to prove to you that some things truly never change.
Ideation has to be my favourite part of the creative process. It's what makes me thrive as a creative.
(un)Fortunately, I find it physically impossible to "just do what everyone else is doing."
It is ingrained in me to resist any temptation or encouragement to join the crowd and take the pre-paved, safer route. Just follow the instructions. Do the bare minimum.
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people.
Colossians 3:23
The creative process of ideation encourages me to stop letting the world in for just a second, and instead consider what I could pour into it; it leads me to create something new after simply accepting and feeling satisfied with what already exists. It enables me to go back to those younger, freer days...back when anything was possible.
3. Multi-Passions
I found this list on the last page of my diary from when I was 13 years old. I remember creating this list of all the things that I wish I could be if I could be anything I wanted to.
I had a vague memory of what I had written on this page, but when I actually took a look at it after all these years, I was surprised to see what was first on the list:
MULTI-PROFESSIONALIST (#1)
I couldn't have planned this even if I tried.
My handwriting has changed a lot over the years, but what hasn't changed is the fact that I am still a dreamer.
But I now live with the freedom that comes from surrendering all of my dreams to the Writer of my story, because what He has written so far in my life is so much better than anything that I could ever imagine (which isn't easy to do considering the imagination that He has blessed me with).
The past five years have thrown me into the middle of a whirlwind of dreams. My original "plan" since grade eight of becoming an astrophysicist flew out of the window in grade twelve after years of enjoying the world of science. God had a different plan for me. Not what the world would expect, but what was best for me. Since becoming an MCOM student at TWU, every semester, I find myself considering a new career. Graphic Design. Linguistics. Game Design. UX Design. The list goes on.
My awareness of my desire to try everything has caused me quite a bit of stress because time is not on my side if I were to try everything. But God is. He knew about my dream of becoming a "multi-professional" before I did, and He placed all these opportunities in my life to reveal to me what I am passionate about. Which is why my new dream is to be a multi-passionist!
The Golden Thread
Remember that "golden thread" I mentioned in the beginning? My grandfather always tells me that there is a "golden thread" that is woven into every page of the Bible—one that connects all the stories to paint a bigger picture of a grander story that is more beautiful than we could ever imagine. But I don't just see it in the Bible. I see it in the world around me and in every single one of us:
The golden thread of divine design and storytelling.
Finding that golden thread has brought me closer to God and to living out His unique plan and intentional design for my life. Reflecting on this, I've realized the following:
Empathy flows out of our recognition of the golden thread that connects all of us: we are God's beloved creation.
Creativity allows us to express the beauty in the golden thread that we find in ourselves and others in various forms.
Passion tugs on that thread and brings us closer to fulfilling God's original design for us and for humanity: to live righteously, purposefully, and faithfully for the good of the world and the glory of God.
Yes, I’m still that girl. I'm still a dreamer who wants to change this world. But I can't do it on my own. So now, I dream with Jesus. Because with God, all things are possible!
"What if the picture is bigger than you see? And God has you right where he wants you to be. Just listen to your heart. He's telling you with every beat. You're still that girl." - Britt Nicole