In typical writer fashion, I’ve reached some writers block. The past week of assignments seem to have drained me of any capability to create a piece of respectable writing. So, in the words of little kid me, I’m stuck on a gooey gumdrop.
Members of my family would know this reference well, as it alludes to the time in my childhood when I refused to walk through a door because I was stuck in the doormat, which was a “gooey gumdrop.” If you didn’t figure it out already, I had been referring to Jolly’s iconic gumdrop mountains from the game Candyland, which my family and I would play all the time when I was a child.
It feels as if I am stuck on that doormat once again, unable to move forward or do anything productive with my time.
I had no good ideas of something to write about this week, I have so many books to read, but no motivation to actually pick them up, and so many chores to do around the house (my tiny dorm room), but just end up doing nothing at all.
There is a pattern from years past I am sensing here, though: the seasonal slump is coming. Some people call it their “seasonal depression,” but I’m not depressed, and I don’t want to discredit those who are, I’m just in a slump.
I don’t want to do anything, ever. Maybe I’m burnt out already from school work and the stress to figure out how to find internships over the summer, but I’m not getting too bad with procrastinating my assignments (yet). I just feel like all the parts of my brain that inspire my creativity have shut off.
Peak fall has passed here in St. Bonaventure, so all the trees are bare and the sky, and overall atmosphere, seems to be perpetually grey. All the inspiration and excitement for the semester has left me, along with the colorful autumn leaves.
I’d give some tips on how to beat this shortage of motivation, but how can I give advice to stop the slump when I myself am struggling to get out of it. So, here’s all I’ll say: if you’re experiencing what I am, you’re not alone. Sometimes you just have to let the block in the road stop you.
This is a common pattern among people at this time of year. So, if the day feels like only curling up in your cozy bed and binging a show you’ve been meaning to watch, then do that. You successfully completed that task with ease, congratulations!
Always being on your “A-game” is literally impossible. Yes, there are people out there that seem to move through their life stress-free, but don’t be fooled. No one can go through life without getting stuck on a gooey gumdrop.
Sometimes you just have to wait it out (or get skipped on a few turns around rainbow road) until your groggy slump has been lifted, and then you’re off onto bigger and brighter things.