Superlatives: Would You Rather?

Shelby McKie | Creative Writing | May 5, 2019

Would you rather be: a top student, a talented athlete, or an accomplished artist?

image courtesy of ThoughtCo

When asked this question I immediately dove deep into thinking about what life would be like as each.

As a top student I know I would have good grades and feel so smart. The teachers would like me and I would probably be well-known around the school. I would also probably have a decent chance at getting a good job! But then I started to think, that brains isn't the only thing people and employers want nowadays, they really want a well-rounded human being. So I started to think about what it would be like to be a talented athlete. I would probably be pretty popular, in good shape, have lots of friends and teammates and probably be getting paid to play professionally, just by doing something I love. And finally, life as an accomplished artist. This would mean getting to express my creativity and share it with the world.

After thinking about all three, I ultimately decided I would want to be an accomplished artist. Of the three, you would typically think the athlete may have the best chance at the highest paying job, but you've got to play by the rules. In art, it's all up to you. Like I said, it is a way to express your creativity and emotion and show it to the world, whether they like it or not does not matter. For an artist to make money off of their work, only one person out of the billions has to like it enough to buy it. But whether people are buying it or not, art speaks to people and it is all around us and that is something I would like to contribute to.

In addition to this, art comes in many different forms. There is drawing, painting, photography, music and dance. All of these things are considered art, so to be an accomplished artist does not necessarily mean I need to draw or paint. It could mean I am a dancer or singer/songwriter. Seeing these as art opens up the opportunity to express ourselves even further and have more ways of doing it.

For me, photography has always been something fun for me to do on the side. I love taking and sharing photos, that I think are simple and beautiful, with the world, and I hope to one day travel and be able to photograph and share it as art.

So if I had to chose between being a top student, a talented athlete, or an accomplished artist, I would most definitely chose the artist.