The Purpose of Life, Culture, and Creativity

By Payal Pereira

I might not be saving lives, but I’m trying to live a life of purpose-driven creativity.

I grew up in a culture where choosing a career in medicine or engineering was not a choice, but an expectation.

Societal norms often dictated our line of work even if we weren’t passionate about it. But as a self-proclaimed misfit, it was important for me to align my life’s purpose with a career I was excited about. My fervor for creativity egged me to take a leap of faith and pivot from engineering to the creative field. 

But while I spent over sixty hours a week trying to create six second ads to sell cars and pizzas, my peers were out there saving lives, finding cures for chronic diseases, and discovering the next big thing in technology.

A part of me felt guilty that my creative pursuits benefited me more than anyone else. 

But I quickly learned that it didn’t have to be that way. When I moved to the United States a year ago, I was surprised at how people didn’t care to learn how to pronounce my name correctly. They showered me with compliments on my English, that I wasn’t sure how to react to.

And it was jarring to see how my culture had been whitewashed to an extent where even I failed to recognize it.

Haldi Doodh, a home remedy that my grandma prepared when we fell sick was called a “Golden Milk Turmeric Latte!” I had this sudden urge to reclaim my culture and create a space for our stories to be heard. I had found my purpose! After a few weeks of practicing The Artist's Way ,I decided to decolonize the narrative about my culture through the power of creativity. 

So, I started a series of microaggression mini-zines that addressed people’s ignorance through simple words and illustrations. It not only resonated with people from my culture, but I also had people from other minority cultures tell me how they felt the same way.

That’s when I knew that my purpose went beyond reclaiming my culture, but also giving a voice to other underserved communities. 

Aside from making cultural mini-zines, I’ve been trying to be an ally in the community by starting initiatives with my peers who are also finding their purpose in the creative field. Our recent initiatives, the Open Sign Project, highlights stories of resilience of Black entrepreneurs all year long through a charity calendar and The Expecting Collective aims to bridge the Black maternal-fetal wellness gap through crowdfunded care packages. 

While this is just the beginning of merging my purpose and career in creativity, I’m excited to see what the future holds. I agree I might not be saving lives, but having a purpose has made me realize the difference between living and existing.