Inkwell – Fourteen Years Later

Last night we were driving through California on our way to Monterrey. It was night time and we’d been driving for about eight or nine hours when I took over. Jennifer took to the role of DJ, using the music on my phone to “spin” a good five hours of tunes through my cars’ speakers. It was great – both the variety of music, but also the drive. I was energized and felt like what I was doing was nothing…no big deal at all…I drove at least five hours straight, no issue doing it at all either…but I was caught off guard at one point in the drive when Jennifer, as we were driving through the middle of the night, lamenting about leaving Seattle behind yet again, played Inkwell by Blue Scholars. A particular calm fell over me as I drove and calmly listened to the song – the lyrics were calming and one in particular made me think in depth about my art…allow me to enlighten you…

“Ten years since the summer I began / I’m still up in the lab”
I’m sitting there, driving through the inky darkness of California, and I’m realizing that I’m beginning my journey in terms of my profession, my passions, etc… Now fourteen years ago Geologic began his journey – and here he is, still grinding to get where he’s going. He isn’t Jay-Z or Nas… There is where I realized that my path is a long one. It is not a short path – and nothing worth anything is…It’s all a long path.

A long path to becoming a true trauma surgeon. A long path to finding outlets for my art, while simultaneously developing my art (an amalgam of poetry, photography, and film – mostly for causes of social justice) and my designs (a variety of products that fit peoples circumstances). I’ve quickly realized that I am only at the beginning of my marathon. I’m on the way there, but I’m still only at the beginning. In my case, the lab represents a sea change in my state of mind – one from a conspicuous consumer of what I’ve been given – to a relentless creator. It is my time to create – both new knowledge, but also more intelligently designed products that do more with what we have these days… It is my time to grow my art. And that is the theme of my life this year – growth…focus on growth…