Creativity Quote by Stephan Jenkins

There’s a clean, almost bored bite to “I was not someone who participated in other people’s castles,” a line that turns social life into real estate and draws a hard boundary without sounding like a manifesto. Jenkins isn’t talking about literal fortresses; he’s talking about the private kingdoms people build out of status, drama, relationships, scenes, even bands - the curated worlds where everyone else is invited to be a supporting character.

The intent is self-mythmaking, but in a way that feels defensively honest. “Participated” is the tell: he’s not rejecting community outright, he’s rejecting the role of extra in someone else’s narrative. It’s a quiet flex, the posture of an artist who wants authorship, not access. And “castles” carries the right mix of romance and rot. Castles are beautiful, symbolic, old money; they’re also isolating, hierarchical, and built to keep people in their place. By framing others’ lives as castles, he implies they’re fortified fantasies - impressive from the outside, constricting once you’re inside.

Context matters because Jenkins comes from that 90s/early-2000s rock ecosystem where “authenticity” was both a creed and a marketing strategy. Musicians were constantly being asked to join scenes, sign onto narratives, become someone’s protégé or rival. This line reads like a refusal of gatekeeping culture and a preemptive strike against being managed by other people’s expectations. It’s also a subtle confession: if you won’t live in anyone else’s castle, you’d better be prepared to build your own - and take the loneliness, ambition, and ego that come with that territory.