I haven’t been feeling very creative recently (hence this “hook” doesn’t have much to it). 

I think a lot of it has to do with how busy college has become since the new semester started, especially with classes. I feel like I’m not prioritizing my hobbies enough, even though I learn the most from them. At the same time, I feel confused; my workflow, especially when it comes to video editing, feels inefficient. My work doesn’t feel like it’s good enough to share. 

However, at the moment, I do feel like I’m exiting this creative slump. I’m writing this (very informal) post as a way to reflect and redefine what I want from my storytelling and content creation journey, as well as piece together a roadmap to pursue those things more consistently. 

Getting Here in the First Place 

While multiple factors caused me to fall into this slump, it was one video that started it all. On my blog, I enjoy writing about STEM topics, specifically biology, and wanted to extend that to video format. I aim to explain concepts in biology as if it were a story, and created one video on protein production. This video took a long time to produce as it was my first time experimenting with animations. I’m currently working on a Part 2 for the video, and want to improve the animations; yet, for some reason, I’m not really enjoying it. I like writing about science topics, but that didn’t translate to video format. 

In addition, I have a bunch of ideas for short form content related to college life, which would be fun to make; yet, the unfinished protein video looms over my head and prevents me from working on something more exciting.

Another big problem has been time, especially since the new semester started. Of course, part of it is the usual – feeling as if there’s not enough time for hobbies amidst the studying, homework, and extracurriculars I’m involved with on-campus. But, this semester I’ve been experiencing problems related to my endometriosis (I wrote about being diagnosed here, and a Part 2 discussing life with endo since then is in the works)! Long story short, I had a flare-up recently, and was sick for a week; that put me behind on everything. 

Having this recent flare-up taught me that while school is important, it’s also important to prioritize my creative pursuits more. Not to be overly dramatic, but if the world were to end tomorrow, linear algebra homework wouldn’t matter as much; what would matter more is whether I was able to pursue the goals I want, and the mark I leave on the world. 

Being More Consistent & The Journey Ahead 

Going forward, I aim to prioritize content creation. Usually, I try to get homework done before lecture, but instead, I’ll work on my blog or edit a video as my first task in the morning. Homework, assignments, and tests have hard deadlines, so I know that I’ll find a way to be ready for them. Yet, my hobbies don’t have hard deadlines, and need to be prioritized more. 

In addition, when it comes to videos and deciding what content to make, I think I’ll stick to the storytelling aspect of science. Perhaps I’ll focus on niche science topics and research of interest and focus on explaining it in an exciting way with a PowerPoint format. After all, I’m here on this journey because I like telling stories and documenting my life, so it’s okay not to prioritize the “animations” aspect (especially since there’s a bunch of cool videos, which I often recommend, that already do this)! 

Of course, as I’m still crawling out of this creative slump, the ending to this post is pretty lackluster. So, I’ll end by saying that this slump – and any other roadblock I experience after – is temporary.