1B Written Response to "Ways to Get Ideas"

Here is the link to the article: 

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/49.06.14Ways

The article 14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas by Mitch Ditkoff begins with a question, “What sparks innovation,” and an answer, “People”. But the real question digs further than that; how do people create “inspired ideas”? Ditkoff continues on a rant about ideas and innovation and how to obtain both. Some believe that thought comes solely from media we consume or people we talk to or the environment we interact with, while others believe it all lies within the subconscious, all a battle between, “I think therefore I am” and “I am therefore I think”.

Ditkoff’s first point is Follow your Fascination, which is basically exactly how it sounds. As students and people, there are certain subjects and topics we are drawn to, and it is against our right to dismiss them. At first, I read this and thought how obvious that sounded; of course you should not ignore something that interests you. But Ditkoff is not just saying you should think about studying English, you should study English. You should not think about producing a movie one day, you should produce a movie one day. Which leads into the next point—Immerse yourself.  Involve yourself in whatever it is that you are interested. Obvious too, right? But I think Ditkoff’s point is more than to point out the obvious. We think about these things, and we know about them, but we never act accordingly. We never actually immerse ourselves in what we love; we don’t have the time or patience or money, or maybe it’s the fear of failure, which is Ditkoff’s next point—Tolerate Ambiguity. I loved the line, “If you are attempting to birth a breakthrough idea, get comfortable with discomfort.” These three are my favorite because they are all linked, and all seem to be preaching topics that we already know, but never act upon, and I found that to be a refreshing wake-up call.

I decided to respond to idea number one because I also explained it above. A new idea that has been fascinating me lately is the new television show on MTV called The Skins. There was something awful about it’s raw desire to be indie and cool and hip, by playing Animal Collective in the opening scene, to featuring hot mess girls with their eye liner smudged and hair rumpled. But something about the show inspired me, because I felt I could write something like that, only better. One of my favorite books is Exit Here, and it had the same kind of feeling as The Skins but without the wanna-be undertone.  And I feel like if there is anything that I could write about, it would be something like that. Something very high-school-esque but also, much more mature than high school.  Like, these kids are in high school but they are most definitely not in any public or private system in America, or Europe, or anywhere. No one is going out every night in bedazzled cloths to dance in some club while snorting coke off marble sinks in the bathroom. And, if such a place exists, why have I not heard of it and why have I never attended? Anyway, it is a fantasy writing, and I think that is exactly what I could do. If I could take my favorite movie, Brick, which I wrote about in my last blog, and apply it to Exit Here and take what I’ve learned not to do from the The Skins, I think the product would be fabulous!