Help getting out of a creative/intellectual/social funk...

what kind of creative stuff do you normally like?

Seriously, take a trip. Go hit up that friend on the beach that’s always offering his couch, or go see a cool exhibit in another city. I prescribe a roadtrip. Take two and call me in a week.

STUDY ABROAD. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Every college student should do this. It will most likely change your life.

You’re in the perfect spot to do it, being first year and all. If you were a senior I don’t think it would be feasible.

Go tomorrow and see what programs are offered. Who knows, you may want to take some classes way out of your normal scope, that’s what I did.

Volunteering is a great way to get out of a funk, because it forces you to focus your energy on something/someone other than yourself. Whether it is lending an ear as part of a “stop smoking” program, being a big brother/big sister, volunteering at an art collective, finding a creative way to take up collections for Myanmar on your campus, supporting your favorite political candidate, helping pull invasive species from your state park, or whatever floats your boat, just doing something is often the jump start you need to find your way back on track.

Good luck!

@ebenezer: I used to do a bit of poetry, but I don’t really think i’m too cut out for it. I love photography, though, and computer programming to a certain degree (if that can be called creative…I guess it can).
@all: thanks so much for your input!

peedub’s idea is excellent. If you can’t study abroad, add an elective Studio Art course to your classload. Choose whatever form of art interests you, photography, lithography, printing – I recommend sculpture, it’s a fast fix for the bogged-out mind because it’s tactile & 3-dimensional and you can listen to music while you’re doing it and the music will influence the art. Then, hey, you’ve got your own artwork in your dorm to contemplate. If possible, take the art class at another nearby college. You might be too overly “grounded” on that one campus & need to fly over to some other school to get a change of scenery.

I second Peedub’s answer. Studying overseas opens your mind and expands your cultural ability to conduct your life in a productive and meaningful way.

It’s desperately important to succumb to an irreversible truth: you will never be passionate about something all the time. What separates the men from the mice are the ones that can to it whether they “feel” it or not.

Best of luck to you.

I am studying while living abroad, well, right now I’m on a medical hiatus from study, but I can tell you that going abroad is going to challenge every perception that you’ve ever had about reality. It’s a mind bending experience. Please, check out your possibilities in this area. You’ll be exposed to like-minded individuals who can bring some radically different thought processes to your psychological and intellectual tables.

I’d rather be a mouse, riser, if it means I’d have to falsify my enthusiasm when I’m not in the mood. I’d have better results behaving naturally. By the way, ancient Chinese wisdom has designated this year, 2008, as the year of the Mouse, being a mouse can be a good thing.