Finding Inspiration
Feeling bogged down? Stressed about jobs, homework, or life in general? Here’s my advice: take a break. I know it feels like you don’t have time, but do it. You’ll be surprised by what catches your eye and gives you some much-needed inspiration.
9:15pm March 1st.
So right now I’m in a funk. I’m stressed about being stressed. I’m lacking motivation and I need to type up a few blog posts, finish a job application, and write a letter of intent. My weekend is jam-packed so I’m stressed I don’t have time. I just Googled what a letter of intent should look like and I got even more bummed because a Google template probably isn’t the perfect formula.
I decided some Starbucks would get me out of my funk – nope. I decided a fun playlist of mine would boost my spirits but for some reason I played my sad playlist – it’s like I wanted to be sad, which of course made me anxious that I wanted to be in a funk. So I took my headphones out and thought I’ll go to one of my favorite study and chill spots, Tru. Well Tru was too crowded…
But something caught my ear when I was walking to Tru: jazz music. LIVE JAZZ MUSIC. Now Jazz isn’t my preferred genre but it really made me happy when I heard it. It could be the fact that it’s a soothing sound or that it reminds me of my family.
Every summer my family goes to the same beach and goes to the same beach bar, The Red Bar. The Red Bar is always crowded so you bank on the fact that you probably won't be seated for an hour. The live jazz is so iconic there that you would almost be upset if you were seated too early and didn’t have time to hear it.
So I circle back around and follow the jazz. I walk up to the outside of the bar and see a sign: Live Jazz 8-10. It’s 8:30 at this point, lots of time left to hear jazz, but I keep walking... This is when I knew I needed to turn around. I am in a funk, and I have to do something to get out of it. So I pivot, walk up, and take a gander!
Imbibe is such a chill bar! I walk up, order a glass of wine and to my right are vinyl records out the wazoo! *a fun tib-bit about me: I’m a big fan of old soul music, and bigger fan of collecting vinyl records. Listening to them just makes me giddy. So the whole scene of this bar is bringing me joy – maybe even brining me inspiration…
And let me tell you, words are a-flowing. I have my notebook out and am just scribbling away. I want to write, create, explore and perform. I think jazz sparks inspiration - there’s a talent and fluidity while each artist forms and expands upon chords and upon one another. You are constantly adapting and working in a team, it really gets your creative juices flowing!
So maybe it’s the spontaneity of this moment or maybe it’s the fact that I’m alone in a place I’ve never been but still feel comfortable. Or maybe I needed a break from technology. Maybe this is my needed recharge, my needed adventure.
Now I know, like I really know, that it feels like you don’t have time to go walk into a random bar and listen to jazz music, but maybe that’s exactly what you need to feel inspired and get shit done!
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