By Jade Perry

     If I were to ask you what the most dangerous animal in the sea was, you would probably say sharks. But what if I told you the iconicity of a bloodthirsty shark was nothing more than a misconception?

      Many people believe that sharks have a natural hunger for human meat, but that simply isn’t true. Sharks are marine animals, meaning that their prey would consist of fish and other sea creatures, not land animals like humans. In fact, Sharks have no interest in eating humans at all. “If a shark sees a human splashing in the water, it may try to investigate, leading to an accidental attack. Still, sharks have more to fear from humans than we do of them.” Writes the National Ocean Service. Unprovoked shark attacks are often caused by the shark mistaking the human for a seal or another natural prey to sharks, and they typically stop after realizing their prey is not a marine animal as they have no desire to feast on humans. On average in America, there is only one fatality to an unprovoked shark attack every two years. You are over 4x as likely to die to a vending machine than a shark. So, Sharks are no more dangerous than a brown bear, but how did the many misconceptions even start?

     In 1974, a novel about sharks called Jaws came out, and was soon adapted into the popular film. This novel/movie iconically featured a great white shark that found its prey on a small beach town, painting the shark as a monster. Before the release of the novel, sharks were seen as harmless, but Jaws instilled a new fear in people of sharks causing sharks to be seen as a threat. This would have devastating consequences for the shark population.

     Since the release of Jaws, the shark population has seen an estimated 70% decline in population around the world. While overfishing does have a part to play in this decline, many people also sought after sharks to kill as trophies. Not much was done for the shark population, as many people only saw them as bloodthirsty monsters thanks to Jaws. The shark population continues to decline even today with 100 million sharks being killed each year.

     Despite sharks being less dangerous than a vending machine, many people still fear them. The misconceptions spawned from Jaws, and similar movies to release since, have instilled a fear in the general population that resulted in 70% of a harmless species to be wiped from the planet. While conservation efforts are in effect, the number of sharks continues to decline steadily each passing year. It is crucial that we work to get rid of these harmful misconceptions through educating the public on the true nature of sharks. Sharks are critical to the marine ecosystem, and their extinction may bring drastic consequences to the oceans as we know them.

     From writing essays about the symbolism in The Good Earth, to picking Shakespeare apart to the very last syllable, English class is not exactly the favorite among some students. As a result, writing is something that many students have come to find boring and tedious; 

     They tend to see it as nothing more than long-winded essays about books they don’t have much interest in. The truth is that writing is so much more than that. Writing is an art, an expression of oneself and a vessel to communicate your thoughts and feelings on paper. If you don’t necessarily enjoy writing essays, that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy other forms of writing. Creative writing is the form of writing where instead of analysis of an existing work, you form your own with your imagination. Fiction novels, poetry, screenwriting, and even music are considered creative writing.       Anyone can get into creative writing, it isn’t all about technical skill, there are no limits except your own creativity. Creative writing starts with thinking outside of already existing ideas, and branching out to create something new. Believe it or not, most famous authors are famous because their work broke the bounds of writing conventions. So yes, writing is more than just Shakespeare analysis. 

     Why not try creative writing yourself? You might like it!

Anyone can create. Art is shown through countless forms of expression. Drawing, painting, writing, photography, music, fashion, film, baking, dance, and more are all forms of art and ways that you can express yourself visually. People, perhaps including you, may think that their art isn’t good enough. But luckily, art doesn’t have to be held to a standard, that part is up to you! That’s why if you ever have trouble expressing yourself vocally, art is an amazing tool. I definitely recommend experimenting with different mediums to show your thoughts and feelings since it’s a very rewarding practice. Be sure to enjoy it and remember to keep in mind that everything is art! So in turn, everything is beautiful, as is what you make!

 To show how lovely art can be, I suggest looking up various artists and art pieces. You’ll see just how beautiful, sentimental and emotional art truly is. Feel free to gain inspiration from these artists as well to start your creative process. On the flip side, you can, and I encourage you to, gather inspiration from natural sources. For some people, it might be more helpful to get inspiration from the things around them, as well as their thoughts, to act creatively. Whichever feels more right to you, I wish you luck on your artistic journey! Have fun!