Our societal systems, including the public school system, are built to counteract subversive forces such as (too much) intellectual curiosity and creativity. We are socialized in ways of thinking and acting that run directly counter to the way creativity works. How can we begin to heal from the damage our formalized systems of learning do to our creative potential? By understanding that damage, and learning to sit with the paradoxes inherent in living within systems while seeking to transcend them through our art.