Describe the Nothing

When my students have difficulties dealing with writer's block, I ask them to freewrite. What do they write about? Sometimes they describe the back of the head of the person in front of them. Many times, a student will write "I don't know what to write" a few times until he/she has the light bulb go off over his/her head. I usually ask them to describe nothing. What is nothing?

Nothing can be the amount in your bank account. You're good as long as the amount is not minus nothing. Nothing can be the amount of gray matter in the brain of certain "heir-heads." Nothing can stop a mother from helping her child. Nothing is what was here before God created the universe...no apologies to the evolutionists necessary.

Nothing can be how you feel about a relative forgetting your child's birthday...or you could feel a lot of something. Nothing can be the effect of gamma rays...or they could be something. Nothing would the same without certain people in our lives. Nothing could be the amount of trouble you get into.

Nothing could be the answer to many questions. "What's buggin' you? What did you do in school today? What did he/she do to you? What did you do to him/her? What's that in your hand/mouth/ear/nose?" Or the saddest of all..."What do you believe in?"

Nothing is kind of useful, in a way...

"Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'..."