Close your eyes.

Now imagine a world where everything is the same, everyone is dressed alike and groomed alike. The buildings are all the same height with the same amount of windows and frame styles. The yards are all cookie-cutter; the bushes neatly trimmed in circular shapes containing the same amount the volume and the grass is the same colour and type. Everyone drives the same make, model, and colour car. The children are given crayons, but only three colours...the primaries, of course...standard red, blue, and yellow. Everyone reads strictly the same literature and there's only one news station and one newspaper. Everyone has one dog named "Spot" and one cat named "Fluffy." That is all. Men grow up to be businessmen and women grow up to be stay-at-home mothers; the children follow the same fate once they are of age. Everyone marries at the same age and everyone dies the same way. There are no such things as tattoos or body modifications or even paint. No fashion shows, no art, no livelihood. Can you imagine a world like that? A world where everyone was the same and had the same fate? That, my friends, is a world without creativity. Does that sound like a world worth living in?

If no, then you're already one step ahead and that's fantastic.

If yes, then I hope the following message speaks wonders to you.

Have you ever wondered just how many different coloured Crayons there have been throughout the existence of Crayola? At least a baffling 400 different colours over the years, not including the countless colour combinations a child can create using a crayon maker. Why use firetruck red when burgundy or mulberry would make your creation look that much better or realistic? Why use neutral blue when cerulean gives your sky that mid-morning look or navy for the late evening appearance? Why stifle creative flow when that's what makes the world go 'round?

Why eliminate graffiti? They are beautiful works of art by artists who may go otherwise unnoticed. That beautiful lotus imprinted upon the ceiling of that overpass? How did it up there and how could it look that amazing? The average person wouldn't be able to pull something off like that, that takes skill and some mad creative flow. It's expression and it's beautiful.

It's not just in the arts though. Imagine the world again without newspapers, books, and news broadcast variety. Journalism exhibits creativity; word flow is just as important. Stifling the press, stifles the growth and gain of knowledge of the world around; both local and abroad. Do you honestly want to live in the dark? Or solely trust just one news source to deliver accurate news 100% of the time? Or literature to be one genre? Without creativity, different news story types nor different genres of literature would have ever came about. There would be no variety.

Creativity can also be expressed by appearance. Everybody is his or her own person, they are allowed to express themselves through clothing, body modifications, accessories, hair style and colour, and any other aesthetic they feel expresses who they are as an individual. More and more schools are adopting school uniforms to make the students look similar to the rest of the student body. While this can be a good thing as nobody can justifiably judge someone else's clothing choice, it also does harm by preventing said student/child/teenager from expressing themselves through their clothing styles or jewelry choices. Creativity should be encouraged, not hindered unless it's exhibited in a harmful or threatening way.

So the next time someone attempts to stifle the press, personal appearance, or art in general in any way, shape, or form, take a step back and remember just how different the world would be if the creative juices were no longer flowing. You wouldn't want the same look as everyone else nor would you want to have the same fate as them as well. Creative minds do just fine; there have been more than 400 different crayon shades for a reason.