The wanted: Chasing the sum

This is not a grandiose self butt-kissing claim of the writer in a statement riddled with subjective bias but one to acknowledge the full-throttle,soul-consuming demand of the vocation, which leaves no room for just any Tom, Dick and Harry to jump on the wagon.

Once again,no hyperpolarization intended.

Every human has an itching need for self-expression, be it insensitive forms(as obtainable in the arts) or insensitive ones(math, tech etc),though the lines can overlap sometimes.

The import of such realisation is, some are innately wired(except you take to the nurture side of the argument,hinting that it's all a case of conditioning, which of course I would drink a quarter glass too) to be the conscience of the society; to be the thought-makers propagating philosophies to steer the ship of the sphere.

It may look to be a far stretch from the objective truth given the a million and one (and more) numbers of word-benders(love calling us as such cos it gives me that Avatar-like superhero status.

And by the way, Korra is my fav. of them all) but have you ever engaged one who lives the write life and noticed how eccentric and/or erratic they may come across? How they may look OCD-ish with catching butterflies(ideas) (for the radically unapologetic ones)?

How they seem to be slaves at the mercy of their loudmouthed heads,or why do you think someone said writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia?

Fast Forward ×5

What's caught my attention is the learn-and-earn campus culture of tertiary students that seems to be on the dollar-rise. Specifically, the efflux into artistic or semi-artistic sideline circles of interest like some sort of homage to what they truly have "passion" for.

This behavioural tendency can be summarily explained for two reasons:

1) The Studentrepreneurs are pretenders to the cult and they only become emergency creatives (especially singing) because anything is all about the money for them(like that Davido's shallow song. Yea,I'm a purist) and entertainment is where the *Naira Bird* flies.

2) What's obtainable in higher education is a massively unfortunate displacement of artsy or aesthetically-inclined folks into Terra Incognita shades of University departments owing to poor psychometric evaluation, analysis, and counseling at the milk teeth level of secondary schooling to prevent misguided academic choices.And the students are making an attempt to reconnect with their self-truth.

But No.2 above is only to go easy on the argument. The massive exodus into entertainment/showbiz is an understandable(if not justified) paradigm shift since everyone is 'on the run' for 'fast food'

But my P with guys arises when they use the P-word when it's sun-obvious they've only come to milk the cow they don't give a rat's ass about feeding fodders. This brings me to a new question--Is passion inherent or it's a function of the closest outlet available in the society for individual self-expression,that is to say,communally-dictated?

How about we adopt a Timeshift analogy;backtrack a thousand years before to decide if we would still cling greedily and make similar choices of profession in the absence of recognition afforded by the 'herd'.......................................please wait,time-machine whirring...............

Ha! I predict the second-guesses and third guesses are flying in in your court of thoughts. So please,art philosophasters shouldn't lay claim to passion,it's just too easy for we 'originals' to see through the veil of 'pyrokardic' interest.

Here's one of my poems to draw the curtain on the subject:

NEED FOR GREED

In my country,life is much less about self-actualisation as it is about survival

'Living' is a luxury we can't afford when staying alive is hard enough

The average John Doe is a sorry tale of wasted potential;a breathing coffin

a package of shoulda,coulda,woulda

It's like the economy makes us economical with self-truth

Cos' sometimes in the 'Uni',you hear folks say things like 'I'm only in this course for the money...'

Not greed,but survival.The country is notorious for stoking the furnace with school-leavers

Or it just might be greed.But justifiably so.

The streets are at a tarmac-rough and it's side lights ain't shining too brightly

One is pushed to make a choice between living and making a living