Organization of Inspiration (or how to avoid ink stains on your shirts)

Lets talk about inspiration today…
Start by taking a look at this picture.

College Applications require an absolutely massive amount of inspiration. You may end up writing 5, 10, 20 unique essays, and each one has to be a shining example of who you are, why you’re unique, and how you’ll add to a school.

Inspiration can take days, weeks, even months to strike. It can’t be controlled, and the ideas can be easily lost.

So lets talk about this picture and how it relates.

This is a picture of my (incredibly pale) arm that I took approximately 5 minutes ago. Today in my Learning and Memory class I was minding my own business, taking notes, talking about phobias when inspiration struck.

I have been trying to find an angle to write about class selection for several days, but each attempt falls into the flat and cliché. Suddenly, in the middle of my last class for the week, inspiration strikes. I know exactly how I can write about this topic. But I know that if I put it in my notebook I’ll forget about it until I open it up again on Monday.

So what do I do?

I take out a fountain pen and write the idea on my arm!

Normally I would write it on the running notepad I keep on my phone, but I sit in the front row of this particular class, and the professor will kick me out if I take out my cell phone.

So, last resort, I write it on my arm until I can go home and add it to the to-do list.

Why?

Because I know that without writing it down, I will probably forget what exactly I thought of. I might remember that inspiration struck, I might remember that it struck while we were talking about having a phobia of sharks, but I would probably forget exactly what I was inspired to write.

So what should you do to avoid having to physically write on your skin?

Carry around a notebook. Not a piece of paper (lost/damaged). Not an electronic list (because you can’t access that 100 percent of the time). A small notebook.

Write down all of your essay inspiration ideas the moment they occur to you.

Nothing is more frustrating than forgetting a good idea. Secondary is having to rub make up remover all over your arm to get the ink off…

Go out, get a small notebook, and keep track of all of your light bulb moments. It will help you later on.