With the fast-paced nature of the typical and very universal way in which college life works, there is no doubt that finding time, energy or even a decent space to explore one’s hobbies seems like a distant and unattainable idea. I find myself stuck in this horrifyingly practical situation very often; overwhelmed with a load of schoolwork, pressing obligations, utterly immersed in my own uninspired exhaustion.

As a writer, one of my drawbacks recently has been this infatuation with the idea of writing meaningful pieces. I desire the ability to make significant strides with my words and be able to profoundly move my audience with the words that I naturally, yet strategically choose. I hope to impact the world with my writing and be able to prove that writing in and of itself holds a superior and deeply rooted power.

But the harsh truth of the matter is, as much as I love to allow my mind to travel to an ambitious and marvelous dreamworld, finding the inspiration for writing can be quite an arduous task at times. I love to believe that I have an everlasting list of ideas, issues and topics that I can tackle at any given point. But this of course, is impractical.

First and foremost, as a full-time student and part-time employee, I am already swamped in various tasks, assignments and stressful situations that often keep my hands so tied that they forget to reach for ink and paper, at what would be considered ideal or relevant times. But putting aside the fact that it is difficult to make time to ponder my writing, inspiration does not simply make an appearance on command.

Writing is not only a skill, but requires immense patience, dedication and a lot of heart to truly encompass the interpretation that which the writer intends. This of course, does not seem like the formula to be used when writer’s block hits in the middle of the night while trying to punch out a lengthy academic paper. But nonetheless, remedying the unfortunate state of writer’s block comes with first internalizing that the intention of writing should not center around the overall pleasure of the audience.

Now, this of course seems like one of the most difficult aspects of writing to come to terms with. We approach writing with this ideology that our audience has the ability to and will choose to critique our writing and ideas. But a major part of the writing process as a whole is the beautiful notion of expression. Expression has a very profound backbone because it has this magical capability to fall into any realms, even that of academia. Expression is purely about the writer, the writer’s intent, ideas, mind, thoughts. and insights. Though this seems to be a simplistic concept, the execution of pure expression is not so simple.

As a writer who often finds herself at a crossroads, torn between two ideas that feel equally unimportant or irrelevant to the intended audience, I have found that the greatest instrument to evade or possibly escape writer’s block is expression and the intuitive nature of expressiveness.

I have attempted many different ideas and techniques to try and pry my way out of the state of uninspired writer misery. But no matter how many prompts I search up, quotations I analyze, the most essential advice I can offer is for the writer to focus on their own vision. I have found myself at a battle with this, but it is so necessary to really try and forget the idea of critiques, to forget the works and pieces that make us question ourselves and our abilities, to forget the nagging feeling that tells us that we write for others and not for ourselves.