UNITED STATES─Who would have ever expected that this self-quarantine would have provided the perfect opportunity for me to focus my limited spare time I have (I work more than one job people), to focus my energy on the one thing that means the world to me: writing. I must be honest I don’t recall the last time I looked at a film script or carved time out of my busy schedule to actually do any creative writing.
I don’t know how to best say it, but I’m one of those writers that have to be in a specific mind space and realm to really have that creative spark explode in ways that rarely occur for me. I seriously can recall 2 times where I started writing and I didn’t stop writing until I finish what I set out to do. The first was a direct result of a movie I watched that inspired me in ways that I never thought possible. The other was while attending undergraduate classes, where something just sparked inside of me. Inspiration comes from many different places, and as writers we can be inspired by things that appear silly to others, but are important to us.
It’s like doing something that you have not done for a long time. It can be a bit rusty, but once you get the hang of things, not only does a light bulb go off in your head, but you feel great about what you’ve accomplished. I feel like my writing is improving as a direct result of me getting back into the swing of working on my creative writing on a daily basis. Writing to write is one thing, but taking a specific skill set of writing and honing on developing those skills over a period of time.
So what does this say about me? It seems a passion that while I would argue never went away, but that was placed at the waist side has become a clear focus for me once again. So my mission now pinpoints to the rest of America. What is your passion? What delivers you pure joy no matter what you do? That’s your passion people; that is the thing that makes life worth living and it’s a clear sing of something that motivates you to go above and beyond.
We are learning so much about our shelf during this self-isolation. Not only are we learning new hobbies, we are returning to old hobbies that are clear bright spots in a time where so many people are going stir crazy and just angling to get out the house, not just to get fresh air, but to unleash a scream or two out of frustration. It is so important for us to remember during trying times that we utilize that bad energy we might have to do something constructive. I mean we’ve seen movies talking about pandemics and virus outbreaks, but who ever expected it would happen in real life.
I’m sure I’m not the only person thinking of an idea for a movie based on the current predicament of the country, and this is not to say it has to be something along the writing lines that you’re doing. I’ve seen fantastic photography of late. People getting images of their downtown regions that look like ghost towns, and while that might be dire, seeing such clean, crisp imagery is fascinating to witness.
Take this down time for those of you who have it and make the best of it. You never know when you’ll get another opportunity to delve into a passion that you’ve always had, but may have been afraid to tackle. There is nothing to be afraid of people, remember when you fail you learn an important lesson: how to succeed.
