I have always loved to write. As soon as I could string letters together into coherent words, and string words together into sentences, I wrote stories and tied the pages together with yarn and shared them with my friends and family. Though my passion for writing has always stayed with me, as I’ve gotten older I’ve found that I allow myself less and less time to write freely in the way I used to as a child.

Writing weekly for the Odyssey has allowed me to revive this desire to create. And in reviving this passion, I have been pleasantly reminded of how writing makes me more alert and appreciative of my surroundings. Making a routine of writing means that I’m always looking for my next story, and it’s changed the way I interact with the people and places around me.

I pay more attention to the details.

Knowing that my next story idea could be waiting around any corner, I’ve become more attentive to the small occurrences in my day-to-day life that I would normally ignore. Rather than walk around with my head down I’m always looking for something to catch my eye. The peculiar way a sign hangs on a doorway or the simple way a friend answers a phone call can lead to powerful prose. Even doing laundry can be cause for a creative moment.

My daily routine has become more interesting.

Though the small details can lead to big stories, I’ve also found myself being more thoughtful about the major things I do each day. I no longer go through the motions without wondering which parts of my life call for more careful exploration. Nothing is simply monotonous. Eating lunch every day in the same place with the same people is an opportunity to think reflectively about our habits of comfort. Writing requires us to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

I listen to other people more carefully and am eager to hear new ideas.

Creating opportunities for thoughtful conversation has always been important to me. When I write, I listen even closer to other people’s ideas, knowing they contain new and exciting concepts to examine. It is not that I am paying attention only for my own gain, but that deeply understanding another’s viewpoint is crucial when writing about new ideas. And new ideas make for the most interesting writing.

Every new lesson extends beyond the classroom.

In college, thought-provoking opinions and opportunities for passionate discussions are plentiful. Our peers and professors are eager to share ideas, but most of the time we tuck those ideas away in notebooks never to be referenced again. As a writer, I look for connections between my lectures and my life, and read more actively to discover new ways to think about my own experiences. When every assignment has the potential to spark an idea for an article my learning is never limited to the classroom.

Writing routinely has made me more engaged, reflective, and aware of everything around me. When I can write about anything, everything becomes interesting and nothing is ignored. And though it is inevitable that many of these stories will go unwritten, I believe that I am better off for thinking like a writer.