Holly Brantley
Holly BrantleyAuthor + Adventurer + Student of the Universe
Today’s perfectly Innocent Postcard is brought to you by an adept author who had already written a trilogy of novels by the ripe old age of 17. Holly Brantley was in my first class of sixth graders, and in the fall of this year, she’ll be flying the coop to study Creative Writing and Literature at North Carolina State University. In addition to being a brilliant writer, Holly is a daring Agent of Eris who never lets fear stand in the way of a good adventure. During her high school years, she performed in school plays and ran the Media Office like a boss, creating a parody of The Office while she was at it because of course she did! Thanks so much for sharing your savvy, Holly!

“Bears are not pink.”

She seemed extraordinarily serious and I, not surprised by anything that comes out of the mouths of four and five year olds, just smiled.

“I know,” I answered. “That’s what makes it fun.”

This time she grinned and promptly colored her elephant green. Later on, I noticed two more kids coloring, one scolding his friend for “coloring outside of the lines.”

“You’re not supposed to do that,” he told me, pointing accusingly at his friend’s picture. “That’s just scribbles.”

“That’s abstract art,” I replied, ruffling the hair of the future James Pollock. “Not all pictures were made to color inside of the lines.”

James Pollock smiled at me, and I winked.

Due to my playful nature and my soft spot for the future generation, I guess it’s no surprise that I work with kids. This summer, I worked in a daycare with the four and five year olds. It’s awesome watching them grow. You can see their personalities begin to blossom through their playing habits, especially how they color.

At this age, most of the kids have realized that coloring inside the lines and coloring pictures with “correct” colors earns them more praise. Now, I’m not saying there isn’t any merit to that. In fact, we recently just helped teach the kids what colors the planets are with a coloring sheet, so there are definitely some perks to coloring traditionally, but there’s a time and a place for everything, and I think those who color abstractly really should be given more credit.

I mean, think about it. Sure it’s good to recognize that the grass is green, but it’s even more important to wonder what the grass would look like if it was blue or red or burgundy or periwinkle. Flamingos are known for being pink, but personally I think that sometimes it’s cool to imagine them neon green. The fact of the matter is that it’s even more important to nourish creativity and divergent thinking than realism. Without dreamers, where would the world be? Our ability to see the world in different ways is imperative to helping envision a better world, one where people are more willing to see something from another’s perspective.

 

Your Mission

While your days of sitting around coloring with friends may not happen as often as they did when you were in elementary school, refreshing your creativity begins with tapping back into some childhood innocence. Have you ever known of anyone to be more honest, empathetic, and full of hopes and dreams than a child?

So tap back into that mindset – the one where anything and everything is possible. Climb a tree, blow bubbles, play hopscotch, or, if you’re really into it, color a picture in the way you might have been afraid to when you were younger.

As you streak the crayon across the page, unleash your inner four-year-old self. Color the sun pink, the grass blue, and the bears green and dare to imagine a world that has no limits. Then, apply that vision to your life.

Your masterpiece is waiting to be created.

If you’re so inclined, inspire us with a photo of your wildly colored world by tagging me and Holly on Instagram at @perilous.and.sparks and @holly_b42. Use the hashtag #PSmission!