I recently read an article about how some scientists who study the mind feel creativity has a connection to insanity. Apparently, brain scans of highly creative people and people with schizophrenia have thought pathways that have similarities. It seems they both lack filters to direct thought, which allows the creative mind to reach beyond the obvious. This is an interesting take on creativity. I know for myself, I can’t help the 
way my mind processes an idea. It’s just there. This also explains how I never fit in with most popular thinking.
Since the age of six I’ve been learning with a quiet sense of purpose to distinguish myself as an artist. I’ve spent most of my life immersed in the act of creating, which made me different from other members of my family. I seemed to learn in a different way than other people and had a problem with friends who didn’t think the way I did. Even the educational system let me down by not recognizing a more creative way to educate its students.
For years I wondered what made me so different from many of my peers. I have now come to realize my need to create is not just a choice but an actual physical phenomena. I obviously can’t help the way my brain is wired, which explains why I think the way I do. This makes my creativity feel more like a gift than something I should curb in order to fit in. It’s strange how creative thinkers are admired, yet often feared and left out. I take comfort in knowing what makes me different is what makes me special…and I see this in my fellow artists. I tell my students to embrace their quirkiness and allow it to filter into their art.