Fly Over States

When I was told to blog about freedom the first thing that came to mind is how criminals that are in jail for a while get the opportunity to pay for the crimes they committed but also get to explore their creative side. Many people that I've met over the years that have been in jail are proud of what they were able to create and the way they were able to turn their life around while "doing time" through their drawings or songs they were able to write, or books about their life they want to publish some day. In the post attached about Prison Art and Inmate Artists the author describes how it should be no surprise that many of our images that we see on tattoos and famous works of art come from "outsiders" that were kept confined with nothing but their thoughts and creativity materials.


As the week went by I thought of other ways that freedom influences creativity and when listening to Pandora Satellite Radio on my way to Waynesburg University one morning, I realized that one of my new favorite songs (because I'm a girl and we have a different favorite song, or twelve, per month), Fly Over States by Jason Aldean was about the freedom that people have when they're in the country. We have freedom in the United States but that freedom can be used for many different purposes. The freedom to express yourself through your artwork in jail, of the freedom to travel a long, open road in the country with nothing but your thoughts, which has the ability to take you wherever you want to go.
Country music always talks about the freedom we have in the USA to do what we want, go where we want, think and say what we want, and how we should be extremely proud of that. This song explains that people that city underestimate the ability that people from the country have to go on a long drive with nothing but the wind in their hair, or lay on a blanket outside at night and come up with different patterns or images in the stars.
Country music can make me feel the sun on the dreariest of days. Country music has the ability to make the gloomiest of people feel happy about their life and proud of who they are, no matter their situation.

"Take a ride across the badlands, feel that freedom in your face, breathe in all that open space." - Jason Aldean

If you don't like the country, take the time to listen to the song; it just might change your mind. Like most country songs are very descriptive of what something feels like or looks like, Aldean uses the creativity of paintings to describe the atmosphere of driving into the sunset.
Copy and Paste the link below to watch a YouTube video of "Fly Over States" by Jason Aldean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEwmDWcHKH4&feature=related

Although I've found several ways that freedom and the lack of freedom has an influence upon creativity throughout the week, Anne Bannister had the greatest impact on me on Wednesday night.
Anne was a 2009 graduate of Waynesburg University’s Department of Communication and now works using her media skills to help non-profit organizations create awareness of how we, as brothers and sisters under Christ, can help each other to create a better world. She showed a video that she edited for the Edge of Seven foundation that helps girls in Nepal find liberation through education. The Nepali girls in this video were so eager to be educated, rather than married off and develop families. It had such an impact on me that the people of Nepal in the video had never even seen a shower before, or heard of a stove. They knew nothing about the items that I take for granted every day of my life.
This video and Anne's speech influenced my creativity and ideals for my future. I've always wanted to be in the music industry in order to work with artists in Nashville; however, after Anne's speech and the Edge of Seven video, I want to use my Public Relations skills and my love for music to help those in need. I want to use my skills and eye for talent to help discover those in other countries or in the United States that face poverty to understand that their talents, no matter what they are, can take them far, no matter what their current situation is.
I still want to follow my dreams with the music industry. Anne's program inspired me to work with current, well-known artist to help them understand the importance of donating to organizations like the Edge of Seven that help individuals in foreign countries develop in order better their families and communities.
Example of this:
Wyclef Jean, from Haiti, holding up the flag of Haiti as he considers running for President.