Lately, I have been struggling with writing inspiration because of long hours at my summer job, working on the family hobby farm and trying to see my family and friends in what little free time I have. I think the first step to a good story or article is being inspired. I know I’ve written a good piece when I was inspired to write it and therefore was able to pour a little bit of my heart and soul into it. Articles, essays and short stories I write with passion are the ones that I feel proud to put on display. Recently I was at Half-Price Books selling some old novels when I came across a table full of journals. One particular journal caught my eye: "500 Writing Prompts." Remembering that I had an upcoming Odyssey article due and knowing I had no idea what to write about this week, I picked it up. By sharing one of the prompts from the journal I bought, I am hoping to inspire others to write like I was inspired by this prompt.

Prompt: You have just bought a sailboat, and you have to name it. What would you name your boat? Where is the first place you’d sail to?

Wow, I bought a boat! I am so excited, but also I am not much of a boat expert, let alone sailboats, despite working on paddleboats on the St. Croix River for the past three years. Hopefully by the time I have purchased said boat, I will have gained a few more navigational and sailing skills. I imagine I would rather sail along an ocean coast than on a river, though it is probably more dangerous. I imagine my sailboat to be big enough that I could be at sea for days at a time for long trips, but manageable enough for one person. A small, soft bed down below for me to snooze on for a few hours would be nice. I like to think that I would have come up with some creative name for it, but in reality I probably would name it something like "Serendipity." I would have to indeed have had a series of good events lead up to the buying of my new sailboat, so Serendipity would probably be a perfect fit for my new vessel.

As for where would be the first place I would sail to, I would love to sail somewhere near Greece, like Santorini. I don’t know why Greece or Santorini specifically, but those places always look so inviting and nice to visit. The blue, salty water and the scenic rocks along the coastline all seem like the dream vacation as well as prime Kodak moments to frame and hang up in my apartment. I imagine that I would only go sailing when I knew there would be a few good weather days in a row, simply because I am a bit of an overly cautious person. I imagine the sun to be warm, but the wind a bit chilly coming off of the sea. Plus, I would also like to think that if I was feeling ambitious, I could sail around to Italy and finally enjoy Italian pasta and other carb-loaded cuisines I dream about daily.

From this small excerpt and more day dreaming, I feel inspired again to sit down and write creatively while also reminding myself of what I really want to do in life. I do want to travel since I missed out on studying abroad because I’m graduating early. I want to go on adventures around the country and around the globe, but most importantly I want to write. I want to write in a way that people won’t want to put the book down. To be reading into the small hours of the morning where going to sleep will be useless since the alarm will go off in less than three hours. I also want to edit manuscripts, to help writers fine-tune their writing and guide them in the direction of clarity.

All of this from the inspiration of an imaginary sailboat.