Everything I have learned from living in Philadelphia stems from misunderstanding or ignorance to how things work. Just tonight I took a “shortcut” to avoid walking from Broad to 19^th Street by taking the Trolley. What happened? Well, I missed my stop, ended up walking three blocks out of my way, and showing up late to the Adrienne Theater which was my final destination. Fortunately, a staff member led me to a section of empty seats fittingly labeled, “Reserved for Late Comers!”

Although I missed the first five minutes of “The How and the Why,” the characters, and indirectly playwright, guided my thoughts toward science—a subject I unfortunately have little discipline or understanding for. The daughter of an evolution biologist, an evolution biologist herself, argues with a woman she last saw when she was six days old, about the implication of presenting a hypothesis as an individual. Rachel, the daughter, claims that her boyfriend and her bounced ideas off of each other after an interesting dream. Who owns that idea? She dreamt of something with little to do with science, and after a day of intense conversation, was able to formulate a revolutionary hypothesis that could change the way humans view very important aspects of their existence.

Who owns our ideas? Does true originality exist? Carl Sagan wrote in his science fiction novel, Cosmos, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” If it is true that creation is only merited to that of who is responsible for the universe, then it seems silly to even think that an apple pie recipe can be called one’s own. Unless…a person creates his or her own universe—whether it be a novel, a play, or simply a lens to view the world—maybe that is where creativity exists.

This pole asks a simple question, but the answer can be complicated. In a city so diverse, so flawed, and so beautiful, who can we attribute this to? Perhaps those who live in Philadelphia are living in a separate universe from the rest of the world. Perhaps even, each universe is created in the individual cultures and neighborhoods that make up the city.  Sure, universes cross over, intertwine, and overlap. Isn’t that what creativity is, after all? Ideas are not exclusive concepts. Neither are the stories of the people living in Philadelphia nor the questions posed by inanimate objects.

Who owns this pole? We all do. None of us do. I own this photograph, but do I really? These questions are at the heart of my experiences in Philadelphia—grit and beauty present in my studies and leisure alike.