I met Emily and Harmon the same year, probably within a few months of each other. Usually the story goes, “I had no idea how much they would mean to me.” But I knew from our first few interactions that both of these people would be dear to me for a very long time.
I would see Emily around campus and she became a celebrity in my life, the “dirty cherub” that I had yet to talk to but made up scenarios in my head for when I got the chance. We shared a major and then shared a class together, where we were able to really bond. I don’t remember all the details because it sometimes feels like we’ve just always been.
I first fell in love with her writing when she shared in class. She used words in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat. Even when it had no plot. I needed to know what word she was going to use next. Then we fell in love through our conversations about anything and everything.
Emily was and is brave, bold, creative, kind, honest and imaginative.
Harmon recounts our first meeting as “hilarious,” but I don’t remember it. We were at a party and I had my eyes laser focused on his best friend. Gorgeous guy, so I batted my eyelashes and worked away. Harmon says he and I were going back and forth with jokes which makes sense to me, but totally slipped my mind. I invited his friend and him to a house party I was throwing and something clicked and shifted.
Likely reminiscent of our first meeting, any joke I would throw out, Harmon would build on it. Just a quick-witted and clever guy. He even threw out some stinkers, which I also admired because it took a lot of courage. We had back to back events of hanging out and one night I brought it up to my best friend I lived with:
“I think Harmon is our third best friend.”
He moved in shortly after this proclamation.
Fall of last year, Emily sent me a voice message saying “This year is our ten year friendship anniversary, isn’t that beautiful?”
My response was shocked that it’d only been ten years. Luckily, we have the rest of our lives to catch up. I’ve been able to spend this month catching up with these two living in the 49th and 50th states. It makes perfect sense to me that Emily lives in Alaska and Harmon lives in Hawaii. And it made perfect sense to me that if I was going to one of those states, I should go to the other in the same trip.
When I think of champions, these are the two people who come to mind. In life, you need to find your champions. Just having one is a blessed experience. These champions here are incredible artists. I always introduce Emily as my favorite author, and it’s true. And I’m always front row whenever Harmon picks up the guitar and sings an original. These creative forces are always the first to ask me what I’m working on, and encouraging and supporting me even when the answer is “nothing right now.”
A phone call with them puts fresh air in my lungs, but actually seeing and being with them gifts me a new pair.
What is a champion? Your creativity champion is your biggest fan, someone you can bring an onion to and they would help you create a four course meal. Your creativity champion is the “yes, and” response when you throw an idea out there that didn’t really have any legs. Now it has legs and a passport and hotel reservations on the other side of the world.
Who are yours?
Some of us have many champions, some of us think we have none. When your head is clouded, it can be hard to realize how many champions are really around you. There’s an activity in Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” where the reader is instructed to list all of the creative champions that have been in their life. If you can’t identify a champion in your life now, rewind a few years. Likely there was a teacher who made you feel like you could do anything. Maybe it was someone you only spoke to a few times, but every time you spoke you felt like your life would start.
They are people whose love for you can be carried and taken out of your pocket when you need it the most.
Emily and Harmon are just two of many champions I’ve had and have today. I carry their love when I have writer’s block. I carry their love when I’m going through a breakup. I carry their love when the sun is shining in my face. I carry their love when the power goes out during a thunderstorm.
And I am all the better for it.
10 Ways to be a creativity champion:
Buy tickets to the show, dance hard
Learn the words to their songs
Commission a painting
Introduce them well: “This is Gem, they’re an incredible fashion designer.”
Start the standing ovation
Ask them for their expert opinion
Like, comment, subscribe, share
Offer to help
Be a sounding board
Be honest and kind when they ask you to be