There are times when trying to put a feeling into words or context doesn’t seem to exacerbate your point enough. No matter what you say, or how you say it, it's not enough. What you feel inside isn’t tangible, or small enough to put into words, or not enough to just talk it out. But what’s interesting about this intangibility is that people have found a way to communicate with each other that doesn’t require knowledge of the same language, the same level of education, or even a relationship; it’s art. Art garners attention, allows the artist to “speak” to people they never would’ve reached otherwise. It touches people far beyond the visible sea, it’s a time capsule waiting to be discovered, and it's been an essential part of our communication for centuries. Art is by far the finest form of self-expression and communication: pieces of art  from decades ago are still relevant because they're timeless, and the original intended meaning can adapt to fit current issues. That’s why so many people relate to and find consolidation in artwork. When artists create, it's their way of escaping whatever they’re feeling, and displaying it for the world to interpret. Words produce vivid pictures, elicit emotions, and when one has a way with words, those words become influential to the people who need it most, becoming words some live by.

But not all art is held within letters, and the communication between an artist and an audience is almost always a complicated one. I read a quote once by Donald Winnicott, a psychoanalyst, that said “Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide”, and I don’t think that could be any more true . I've noticed that when artists—not just musical artists—are asked about a specific piece of theirs and what their craft means to them, they often answer very vaguely, say that the meaning is up for the consumer to find in themselves, or decline to answer at all because it’s too personal. Even as I write this, knowing it will be presented to my classmates, I don’t want to delve into all the things art symbolizes for me; it’s beyond personal. Art is vulnerable and difficult, but it’s an excellent way of expressing what goes on in one's heart and mind. We can all think of a time where we were overwhelmed with an emotion, and wanted to let it out but didn’t know how to speak it into existence. While some bottle these emotions up, others create movies, paintings, illustrations, books, sculptures, and with every minute of work that is put into one of those projects, their emotions intertwine with the work and they let their feelings go. Sometimes a movie or a painting is so arduous for the consumer to look at, it’s almost as if the producer placed their feelings upon you and left it for you to carry. You walk away from that film with a newfound sense of dread, anger, or sometimes elation. Feelings can be painful for some people, overwhelming, including the good ones; and I think every artist out there is one of those people. Some may call them dramatic, but others  may think they’re just deeply in touch with their subconscious self—which may seem inimitable. It’s impossible to think exactly how someone else would, so it’s impossible to replicate someone's work in an authentic way. After the art is filtered through someone else's mind, it loses value because it’s no longer legitimate.

Where there are art fanatics, there are also people who think that art has no substance, that it's nothing more than a hobby. They might tell you to get  a job in something “useful” like finance, or real estate, or stock brokerage, something much more worthy of your time. But while those jobs are difficult and require an abundance of mental agility, they’re replaceable, teachable, and there are plenty of people willing to take those jobs. True creativity comes from within and can't be forced.. What those "useful" people  fail to realize is that information can  be discovered within art. Cave paintings from thousands of years ago have provided scientists with enough information to determine what kinds of animals people were hunting, how they were hunting them, where, and other practices they would’ve never discovered without ancient art. There’s also no way to express your emotions through those analytical jobs, and living without being able to discuss your feelings in any way is detrimental to the mind. Art provides a backbone to support us in our worst moments. What do you do when you’re sick? Or when you’re sad? Or when you have nothing to do with your friends? You watch movies, or you make funny videos of you dancing to songs on the internet, or you paint.

The fact that art is so fluid means anyone can do it. It doesn’t have to come from someone who has dedicated their entire lives to one specific craft, it just has to mean something to someone; anyone. Art is innovation, it's a way of speaking without speaking at all. Think of all the silent films that were shown not that long ago; those films of Charlie Chaplin, Lillian Gish, and Greta Garbo brought people together to make them mad, made them laugh, cry, or smile. You don’t have to be from the same town to understand other people’s emotions; you just have to pay attention. Art garners that attention, whether you’d like it to or not, and someone's interpretation of a piece says a lot more than their ability to broker stocks.