+it's astounding how you live so close to your cure

choose your own adventure books and paint by number kits. good things or bad things? i like them. i liked them. i felt like i had the power. the power to finish the story or to create a painting. but then i grew up and became somewhat of a self-proclaimed critic and lately i've been wondering if these fun things actually stole away our imagination and creativity. yup. cynical. but think about it. instead of writing short stories - we just chose which direction the story was headed. instead of painting a picture of something new and inventive, we just filled in the colors. comforting to know that when you are done, you will have created something complete. something worth looking at. a story worth telling. but i still cannot decide if i should feel like something was stolen or if it spurred on my creativity and thoughts.