I would like to give a round of applause to all of the entertainers out there. They may even be unintentionally entertaining, such as when anybody prefaces her, or most likely his, endeavor with the proud statement, “Hey y’all, watch this!” Sorry guys! Most of their stories end badly, but they are often entertaining. Rather sadly, many of those guys end up with Darwin Awards for taking themselves out of our gene pool, but they do it in a number of mind bogglingly spectacular ways.

But musicians, actors, comedians, and even authors and artists all intentionally give us their gifts. The creative among us give us the best they can come up with, and I want to thank them.

Where would we be if there weren’t songs and poems and Shakespeare? We could not even hum a happy tune if somebody had not written the song first. Teachers could not have their students learn and recite a poem if somebody had not previously written it. And imagine what the world would have lost if we did not have Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, Falstaff, Ariel, Prospero, and the three witches of Macbeth. And which of all his quotes could we afford to lose? “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” “This above all: to thine own self be true.” “We are such stuff as dreams are made of…”

The creators enrich our lives immeasurably. What would we all do without art? You might be a realist, and you might not understand or think you like cubism or surrealism. But all genres have their fans, and you don’t have to like all of them. See the second to last quote above!

I think we should all explore creativity. You might find the key to a living a happy life. You could at least inspire and make people happy. If you go into it with the best possible good for everybody in mind, you will surely do well. You might write a new best seller based on happiness. You could inhabit the role of Hamlet like no one has ever done it. Or you could make people laugh out loud!

Or, if your gifts are of the more mathematical or research and development sort, you might even find a cure for cancer or Alzheimer’s disease or the common cold!

Creativity is great. Please try it out. There is no telling what you, personally, could give the world!

Marcelle Hanemann is a reporter for The Daily News. You can email her at marcelle.hanemann@bogalusadailynews.com or call her at 985-732-2565, ext. 301.