Bethel Creatives, no. 23: Rafael Ferreira

Interview conducted by Jonah Miller in The Crossings’ series on creativity and diversity within Bethel University’s student body.  The heart behind this series is to explore creativity in a broader sense and to be encouraged and inspired by the creatives on our campus and the things that they are doing.   

Rafael Ferreira is a junior majoring in business management and marketing. Some good spots to find Rafa are SG or possibly laying in one of the library hammocks between chapel practice and chapel. Rafael loves to play music, especially guitar and piano, reading, and just finding ways to gather with people. He also loves playing and watching soccer and you can find him cheering on either Internacional in Brazil or Man United in the Premier League.

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Q: How do you define creativity?

A: Creativity is when we choose to dream. Creativity is when choose to use our talents that we have that no one has ever seen. It begins in your head as imagination and you try to bring that imagination to real life.

Q: You mentioned music is something you really enjoy, when did you learn music was your way to express yourself?

A: It started with lessons when I was little, that started when I was about eight. It started with piano lessons then guitar. When I was twelve years old I had stopped playing guitar, and I saw a facebook memory from my mom of when I was like nine years old of me playing guitar. It just felt like a sign that I had to pick it back up, and from then on it was just me learning and improving on my own. It came in a natural way that other things like arts and crafts just don’t seem to me. Music doesn’t frustrate me, it is like medicine that connects to something deep inside me.

It was at this point Rafa and I discussed the movie Soul and he said, “When you connect with something supernatural through a natural avenue, that’s your calling, that’s your place.”

Q: So do you have a ritual of sorts you make sure you always do when you play music? A habit or something small even that you make a point of doing?

A: I always make sure to remember my “why” for playing. Why am I playing? Why am I picking up the guitar? If we don’t know the why for our playing then for what purpose is it to play? For example, with chapel its like, “ugh, rehearsal, 7 a.m.” but I have to remember why I do it. To be a light for Christ and to bless others with this talent that I have been given. Music also just has this ability to connect people. It’s a bridge between culture, it breaks barriers, and cultural boundaries. When words fail, music speaks. I do this because God gave me the ability to and I am so excited to be a part of it.

Q: I know you play for chapel and you’ve spoken about your enjoyment of that, but what other genres of music do you enjoy playing outside of that?

A: I love country. I like all country but real country I love. I love hearing the instruments, the violin, the fiddle, and the banjo. There is something so special about, fun, and joyful about that sound. I listen to many different kinds of music though. Everything under the sun depending on the setting and where I am at. Those things always help me discern how I feel about a song and my values reflecting off that song.

Q: You’ve mentioned to me about your family a little and their impact, how has your family pushed you to express yourself and grow your talents?

A: My family is so talented and I’ve had the pleasure to always see that. It is just so awesome seeing someone find “the zone,” find what they are good at is so inspiring. Just seeing them use their talents and blessing people with them, and allowing them to see God through it is what encourages me. I think my parents did a great job at creating an environment that encouraged us to do what we were good at, but also encouraged us to try new things. We learned to try new things young and when you learn to do that young it makes it so much easier to grow and do that when you get older. I think being in a home with four siblings, five total, there was always competition. Not in a bad way, but in a way that made us each want to grow and get better because we saw the others doing that and desired it too. My parents love me for who I am, not what I have, but it is because of who I am that I want to be good at something. My dad always said, “during the 30 minutes you’re on your phone you could’ve learned a new instrument or language.” Just being pushed to try makes a big difference and that’s a difference not everyone has.

Q: I know you enjoy watching as well as playing soccer, how has soccer influenced you in life and as someone who is part of a team that desires to grow and get better together?

A: Soccer has shown me that life is a constant moment of learning and figuring things out with my team and just this desire to get better. In soccer, our coach talks a lot about our values and Christ which I love but he also asks, how can we be excellent in what we do? We won, great, but how did we win? Many times when we lose we say, “maybe it is a good thing we lost this game.” If we had won, maybe we would have thought we were doing great and missed out on all the things we could’ve done better at. This served as a wake up call. We know we should’ve won. We know we are better then them, but in the end they beat us. So how can we be excellent in the wins, and in the losses?

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It was an absolute pleasure of mine to get to interview Rafa and just hear about his perception on creativity. Rafa said something in one of these questions that as soon as I heard it felt like it deserved it’s own little area at the end. This is something I feel like everyone can use. Whether its for your motivation, ambitions, or feeling like you have to have everything figured out, you can take something away from some of Rafa’s many wise words.

“You’re always striving for more. How can we be better? And yes part of that is acknowledging where you are at, but its also knowing that hey, you can get better at this. There is always a way to get better. You should never reach a point and say ‘I’m done, I know everything.’ If you reach that point, that is a point of ignorance. And honestly, that is because God is so great and so big that, to me, its almost like saying I know everything about God.”

I learned so much from getting to talk to Rafa and it was an amazing experience that inspired me to take a harder look at myself and to make sure I stay hungry with my learning. I hope that he can have the same effect on anyone else who he interacts with.