I love people watching. I love hearing people sharing their stories. And I love learning from conversations. Other than the infamous one time, I have never interjected into another conversation. But boy do I learn from them.
So I was stuck on an elevator that was uncomfortably packed going to the 12th floor. Two women were deep into their conversation despite rubbing elbows with total strangers. The younger of the 2 women kept said “I just don’t know what I want to do. I don’t want to get a job.” She then proceeded to give a laundry list of what she was not. “I am not good at science. I am not good at cooking. I am not good with computers.” It was amazing how many things she was able to rattle off in our 90 second journey to the 12th floor.
An hour later I was able to take a much needed lunch break. My fellow coworkers were watching a horrible COPS TV show in the staff lounge, so I took a napkin and started doodling and writing. Writing has become such a creative, positive outlet for me.
I used the elevator prompt… I am not.
I am not a fan of black licorice.
I am not a drawer.
I am not the reader I want to be.
I am not traveling this summer like I really wanted.
I am not the athlete I once was.
I am not a homeowner.
That’s when I put down my pen. You see this writing prompt quickly took me to a place of rumination within a mere 20 seconds. I had 23 minutes left of my lunch and I wasn’t going back out to work with a piss poor attitude. So I changed my writing prompt to… I am.
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