Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Editorial

Sitting in a hotel room full of good friends late on a Sunday night in Wichita watching Family Guy isn't much inspiration for writing your newspaper article or doing any of the other homework on the ledger. You just had a very filling and delicious meal at a popular local restaurant along with a couple of ice cold brews and you're doing all you can to do anything but write. The only thing you're inspired to do is sleep. Inspiration is a funny thing. It brings to mind the Old Spice advertisement with actor Bruce Campbell where he says, "If you have it, you don't need it. If you need it you don't have it. If you have it, you need more of it, if you have more of it, you don't need less of it. You need it to get it and you certainly need it to get more of it. But if you already don't have any of it to begin with, you can't get any of it to get started with which means you really have no idea how to get it in the first place. Do you? You can share it, sure, you can even stockpile it if you like. But you can't fake it. Wanting it, needing it, wishing for it. The point is that if you've never had any of it, ever, people just seem to know." Followed by the caption "Experience is everything." Of course in this case inspiration is everything. For a writer commonly featured on the opinion page it is pivotal. First one must have an opinion or a problem about the dealings of the world. An election is coming up and everyone and their dog has an opinion about the candidates, what they stand for, why one is right one is wrong or why all contenders in question are totally worthless. Making a person inspired to not cast a vote. Inspiration can work both ways. In theory a person is always motivated to do a thing or to not do a thing just like in choosing not to decide, a decision has still been made. The one catch to being inspired is that it cannot be forced. If you want to write a song about alcohol and having a good time at the bar, having memories of said happenings to draw inspiration from would be most beneficial. But sometimes a person isn't always in the mood to write that kind of song. Inspiration and experience go hand in hand after all. You might be inspired by a look into the eyes of someone you love. By a hero, or an old friend who is always there for you. What drives you? Competition, fear, faith, or family? No one is ever able to predict where inspiration might come from and that is the most annoying thing about inspiration along with at times it only lasts long enough for a drop of rain to hit the ground, then it's gone. It's a slippery son of a gun. Whether it be a lover, a friend, a family member, or heck even someone you've never even met before, hold onto the inspiration that comes from those things. And paint all the pictures you can with it. Write every inspired word that bleeds off the tip of your pen. One of these days that paint or that ink will dry and all you'll be left with is what you did with the inspirations they were born from. Don't get caught watching and waiting for the pot of inspiration to boil, you'll just keep watching and waiting. Instead just write about how there is a lack of inspirations in your life. Nate Jones is a junior majoring in communication. You may e-mail him at nate.jones@sckans.edu.

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