Here are my four stimuli; the four things that inspire me to create.
1. "But I don’t want small talk. Text me, and without saying hello, tell me why you got so angry at your sister this morning. Tell me why you have a scar shaped like Europe on the left side of your neck. Send me paragraphs about the time you spent at your grandmother’s house that one summer. Call me when I’m half asleep and tell me why you believe in God. Tell me about the first time you saw your dad cry. Go on for hours about things that may not seem important because I promise that I’ll be hanging on to every word you say. Tell me everything. I don’t want someone who just talks about the weather." - this is a quote that I found online about six months ago. About two minutes after seeing it, I opened up a google doc and wrote the first short story I'd written in a year. I'm not sure why, but there's something about the thought of knowing people that just gets me into the mood to write.
2. Peppermint Tea. - Early in freshman year, anytime I had a paper to write, I would make myself a cup of tea, sit down, and get to work. Ever since then, anytime I have peppermint tea, I'm automatically primed for writing and creating, sometimes for hours upon hours.
3. http://youtu.be/_holzIquMxg - this is a link to the Regina Spektor song, Braille, which has had a huge influence on my creative thought process. I was listening to it when I got the inspiration to compose my first ever piece that I later transcribed onto sheet music.
4. "I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does." - the smiths. This is a huge part of the topic that I'm planning on writing my ethnodrama on. It took me about a year for me to realize that I am worth loving, and this specific lyric had a huge impact on the way I learned to do so.
