I know you're awaiting the results of this study, but here's something I might mention first. Wiley selected 40 21-23 year-old males who consumed 1 to 4 alcoholic beverages a week - and she did this not only through university volunteers but also an ad on CraigsList. 

Rather than questions like III - III = III, she used creative patterns like the words falling, dust, actor.

The answer, by the way, is "star". 

In this study, there were two groups, one of which was the alcohol control group. The idea was to study the difference between self-control and creativity. While being drunk is devastating when it comes to math, she found something quite interesting in her study's results.

The alcohol study rated subjects on how quickly they came up with the answer. There were 17 questions with a minute to answer each one. While some of the sober subjects rushed to make the deadline, the alcohol study group finished rather quickly. 

On a scale on 1 to 7 (7 meaning the answer came immediately), most subjects rated their response high and said the answer was instinctive. 

It means I was right all along even before anyone really tested the hypothesis - nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.

The results of Wiley's experiment revealed creative answers are often quite simple to the mind of a drunkard. Unfortunately, it also showed that the aforementioned "instinct" is also what we encounter at bars when people rant on and on before they even have a think it through. 

When you're drunk, you speak without thinking first. When you speak without speaking first, you feel confident and hook up with someone gorgeous. When you hook up with someone gorgeous, you find out they have a jealous significant other. When you find out they have a jealous significant other, you wind up in a ditch somewhere with no money, because you left you wallet in your parents but don't remember where your pants are. Don't wake in a ditch without your pants. Switch to Direct TV.

Dot . . . dot . . . dot . . . .


How does this apply to writing? Mostly, I'm just glad to see no one has made my previous blog erroneous. Secondly, it suggests (or maybe I'm doing the suggesting) writers can have quicker access to their creative side when they're just below the legal limit.

So go ahead, take a shot. You deserve it. Just make sure you scribble down every thought you have and try to create your artistic masterpiece under the influence of the ever-so scientific cranberry vodka elixir. Just remember to edit when you're sober . . . you're not going to be the most analytical person in the world after a few shots.

Side note: The intoxicated subjects were terrible at the memory portion. They had to remember words while try to solve math problems. Then again, who actually does this in real life? I mean, while I'm calculating my student loan numbers, there are only two words I ever remember. 


"Mary Kate Daniher, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, said she thinks the sober participants did not perform as well because they overthought the problems.

“'If you are intoxicated, you probably aren’t thinking very analytically,'” Daniher said. “'It’s more of a simple realization.'”

Ziggy Zaggy, Ziggy Zaggy, Oi, Oi, Oi! 

DO YOU EVER DRINK TO FIND CREATIVE INSPIRATION?

Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, thinks he knows how to solve student loan debt - drop out. In fact, according to this article, Thiel will pay you to drop out of college. 

Thiel's man argument is that the cost of college interferes with making money. For instance, most college students leave their institution wanting to be entrepreneurs, innovators, or something of social relevance. They don't want some retail or insurance agent job just to pay their bills. They went to college, they worked hard, and now they want all their efforts to pay off. In short, they want to lead something, rather than follow in someone else's footsteps. 

Part of me agrees with Thiel. The greatest burden a college degree places on students is that they feel accomplished when they graduate and then failed when they begin their first job hunt. Even college-based internships are often misleading. While all of your peers are dropping out of the rat-race within that first year of the college blues, those with internships feel as though they're getting ahead. Unfortunately, internships aren't always fruitful.

Students like internships because they are working within their field of study. It feels good, trust me. The problem is that companies like to offer internships for another reason: They don't have to pay some of their workers. Students believe they have a chance to step up in the company after the internship is over, while some companies are just waiting for the next intern to step in. It's a tough world out there. Some internships pay off, especially if you're aiming to be a teacher or aim to be an RN. But say you're working for a magazine or as social media intern . . . It usually doesn't pan out. 

On the other side of the coin, it's important to realize college isn't 100% about landing a job in a more prestigious field. It's about finding yourself, learning what you're good at and want to do, among so much more. It's a great intellectual and social experience. Or is it experiment? 

With tuition rates soaring higher each year, some students are starting to think college, although a great experience, isn't worth the money. You can find yourself for a lot cheaper. Steven Jobs went soul searching in India with a few thousand bucks and some psychedelics, right? 

During college, many students are fine with the intellectual indulgence, but when graduation is in sight, they start to think about the loans they signed. Naturally, they demand their universities provide significant assistance for their students. Universities argue the "universe of ideas" point. Students are all like, "Damn." Universities even claim that they do help students land jobs. True, some students score some awesome internships upon graduation, but didn't we already cover this point? And as for career centers: Mine just offered a clerk position at Menards. Wait, what?

So I'm on the fence with Thiel's argument. It's too grey. However, if you're the entrepreneur at heart, then maybe it's a good idea. It really depends on who you are and what you are doing. To be honest, money isn't everything either. I'll tell you from experience, unless your five-year plan is already working during your junior year of college, I would think twice about those loans. I still feel the pressure of them every day, and if it's limiting my options and chances to feel accomplished or relevant, then I can't imagine what it'll be like 10-30 years from now. 

One of the major reasons I'm an enormous fan of Joe Hill, author of  Heart-Shaped Box, is that he holds a very humble view of the literary world and strives to be successful without the help of his father. In the video above, he makes a valid analogy between putting up drywall and writing.

When I first started writing, I had an idea that I would only write when I felt inspired. Anything I wrote while uninspired would read like I wrote it without that same inspiration (duh?!). 

True, some of the best work comes from the moments when a writer cannot stop jotting down ideas for their manuscript, but like Hill said, sometimes you turn out the most work when you're too tired or burned out to write. 

If there's something I learned throughout college, it was that I could be very prolific. Now, quantity doesn't mean everything, but it is a good mindset to have. 

If you can maintain a steady shift of writing, as you would with a 9-5 job, then you will produce many more volumes of work. If you're working on a novel, dedicate yourself to a certain word count ever day. Some days you'll find yourself struggling with the minimum, and on other days you might write an infinite amount more. I personally throw kudos out to Cathy Day ( The Circus in Winter)  for showing me the website 750 words. 

750 words is to writing what social awareness is to smokers. If you try to quit smoking, it might be rather difficult, and the support or ridicule of friends, family, and/or fans can really push you to try harder. When you tell people you're quitting smoking, perhaps it will add a level of pressure to actually do it. The same goes for writing. Saying you're a writer isn't good enough, when you're sneaking a literary cigarette on your downtime. Show them what you've actually done. Let them see your word count and possibly have the access to see proof you actually wrote. 

Along with this mindset, it's important to always, always, always write. Even if the words on your page turn out to be utter shit, keep on writing. 

Sometimes work and family seem to hinder your writing time. Make time for yourself like you would the gym. If you work 9-5, write 6-8 and 6-10. 

Whatever works for you, do it and stick with it. It's a good method, trust me. After you've climbed to a point at which you write on a regular basis, there's something else you're going to need.

Another point Hill brought up was the difference of venue.

In England, the genres of the fantastical are legitimate. Genre fiction and literary fiction are one in the same, so to speak.

For instance, Edgar Allan Poe  is a great literary author in the United States, although he clearly wrote horror, mystery, and suspense. Don't let barriers bring you down.

There's a lot of pressure out there not to write what it is you love to write. If you know it, it'll show. If someone tells you don't struggle to be literary, go mainstream, stick with what you love. If someone wants you to ditch your sci-fi novel to go literary, ask what's the difference, who says, and what authority do they have? Then keep arguing because some people are going to have an angsty answer. 

There are times when I look at some of my work and wonder if it's any good. I believed in the idea. I believed in the writing as I wrote. At times, I still enjoyed certain aspects of my writing as I edited and redrafted. Nonetheless, after I heard people say "Eww, horror" or after I compared my work to others, I faced doubt. 

Stab doubt in the fucking heart, and when it's dead, lean down and slit it's throat. (This is all figurative language by the way.) If you believe in what you do, who's to say you're wrong? And you should never waste time comparing your work to others. You aren't the other authors, and you never will be. Don't try to be the next J.K. Rowling; be the first you.

As you as you keep working on your writing, maintain a regular schedule, and keep your head high, you'll do just fine. One day, I hope to pick up your book on my travels. Take it from authors like Joe Hill - The only thing that matters about writing is that you write, and maybe, people like to read what you've written. 

May marks a month of success, celebration, and anxiety for many college graduates. It's proof that you were above the status quo and could truly "make it". It's a period to celebrate and remember all the good times, the moments of triumph in the face of looming failure. And it also conjures the question of what's next.

For some, post-college will be glorious. It'll be the start of dreams come true and professional fruition.

However, for others it may lead to the opposite. The "real world" isn't how many students left it. The economy is in a state of slow recovery, which at times makes it seem static. Depending on where you live may also influence the type of career you pursue. Your first job out of college may seem like the exact opposite of every ideology you stand for.

But whether you hit the bottom or immediately rise to the top, you're in a good place in life.

If you automatically succeed, don't stand still. Keep pushing until your dreams become your bare minimums.

If failure chases you into a corner, remember it's not failure pursuing you at all. It's the pressure to use everything you've learned and to exhibit everything you know to be in your heart. The harder it is to succeed, the better it feels when you have.

So take time to relax and unwind. Celebrate. There's a crazy life ahead of you. Forget about pending loans in the mean time.

No matter what, though, you're the perfect type of human being to go out and kick ass.

Congratulations to the Class of 2012.