Hi, I’m Ben Tompkins

I’ve always had an appreciation and passion for creativity. However, there are many misconceptions about what it means to be creative. Many tie creativity to one having a strong artistic ability or sense of quirkiness. Having a zany personality, wearing bright colors, and demonstrating musical or expressionistic inclinations often garner us the title of being “creative.” But I believe creativity is much simpler and more honest than that. To be creative means to be a problem solver. To ask the why and what if, not just the what. To look at a problem through the eyes of authenticity and originality, understanding that the solution may be outside of the box, but it may be inside of the box as well. When faced with a writing project or poetry unit, I would hear my students often say, “I’m not good at writing poems,” or “I don’t have anything to say,” or “I’m not creative.” The truth is, as I always told them, we all have something to say, we all have our own way of looking at the world, and because of those two facts, we’re all creative.