Early Monday morning, a University of Calgary student was struck by inspiration at one of the most inconvenient times possible.
At approximately 3 a.m. on Monday morning, third-year biology major Stefania Barnes was preparing for an upcoming midterm when she was reportedly overcome with a burning desire to just try out something new.
“I was cramming for my genetics midterm at the last minute, as students do, when I suddenly felt this overwhelming urge to paint,” Barnes said. “I had never lifted a paintbrush in my life before then, so it was all pretty new to me, but I just went with it.”
Despite having no previous experience with the arts and having a much more pressing obligation at hand, Barnes said that she simply could not resist trying out something new, even if it meant putting off her much more important duties.
“I knew that I really needed to study, but I did not want to squander the gift of inspiration,” Barnes said.
Barnes accredited her poor decision-making skills largely to an absence of clear-mindedness and her high-pressure situation.
“There is just something so tantalizing about that magical period in the early morning when you are not quite thinking straight and are really feeling the pressure of being completely unprepared for an upcoming test that just really gets those creative juices flowing,” Barnes said.
When asked how she now felt about her spur-of-the-moment decision to pursue the arts, Barnes expressed her deep regret.
“I had literally never painted anything in my life before that night,” Barnes said. “Not even a flower. I am not even sure how one manages to avoid something like painting throughout their childhood, but I managed to do it. I managed to avoid painting for my whole life. I had not painted anything before, but I have painted something now, and I am very unhappy about it.”
Barnes was even more upset by the fact that her whimsical procrastination left her completely unprepared for her upcoming midterm.
“I do not understand why I decided to spend my time on something I had no previous interest in, especially when I clearly had more important things to do,” Barnes said. “I do not know why I picked then, of all times, to try something new. The painting was not even that good.”
In the future, Barnes hopes to complete her duties before the last minute so that she can dedicate more time to her capricious fancies.