A Hub of Creativity

I bought this laptop almost a decade ago, a few months after I graduated from college. That time represents a huge creative shift for me - I found myself struggling to balance the energy and ambition I did as a college student, with real world, 9-5 responsibilities that often led to burnout and stress, which then led to serious creative blocks. As a writer and amateur photographer, this was scary as hell.

Back then, I convinced myself that I’d have more time for creative pursuits. I told myself, “After you clock out of work, your time is yours! You can do anything!”

I was so wrong.

It’s counter intuitive, but I actually had much more energy in college for my passions. When I was a student, I was a student 24/7 - there was no clocking out, and I wasn’t guaranteed weekends like I am today. In college, the constant flow and pace of being a student actually allowed me more time to write poetry and songs, or practice editing videos, or taking photos.

So, when I bought my laptop, it was one of the few things I possessed that made creating a little easier compared to those few months after college. I never did well with paper because I get easily disorganized, and my chicken scratch makes editing my work frustrating. Before the laptop, the notes app in my phone was enough as my go-to, but only really for poetry, short stories and songs I created in my head. Once I pushed my laptop, my creative possibilities broadened - going fully digital meant I could deepen my passion for so many more art forms. That meant photo and video editing, recording music, and learning graphic design. It helped to leave the door open enough for me to continue pursuing as many creative forms as I wanted despite how much busier life had become.

I don’t use my laptop as much these days but that’s mostly because of its age. And yet, I still love looking at it because it reminds me to never stop pushing myself to create as much as, if not more than I did in college. One of the stickers is from NYU’s Haitian American Student Association, and it represents the cultural influences on everything I make using my mind and voice. Another is a Blavity sticker, which always reminds me that my first post-undergrad project (a series of 60 haikus accompanied by a related photo I took) was featured on the Black-owned online media platform. And finally, the most recent sticker from the past year is of Grogu, one of the main characters from one of my favorite shows, “The Mandalorian”. I added this sticker to represent my love for science fiction and my goal of finishing an Afro-futurist story I started writing over a decade ago.

I don't carry it with me as much as I used to, but I can’t imagine ever letting go of a laptop that’s been such an integral part of my journey of pushing through creative blocks and expanding my interests. Though it’s more of a symbol than anything useful these days, it’ll always be my baby.