Illustration by Ana Hinojosa.

One of the reasons I’m always taking pictures is because I’m afraid to let moments get lost. The idea of a snapshot calms me. It’s a way to capture time—to keep it and hold it and have it for as long as the technology allows.

When I say “moments,” I don’t necessarily mean Important Events or what have you. I mean a street sign that catches your eye, or a flower, or a piece of gum stuck on the ground, or the way the wind blows, or a perfect waffle: anything that makes you think, I want to keep this for a second, even if you’re not sure why. There’s no right and wrong in quiet observation. All you have to do is preserve the moments that hit your heart in a certain way.

What I’d like you to do this week is to document at least five moments per day for a few days. You can do this on film, using your camera’s phone, sketching a moment, or even writing a poem about what you’re seeing. Don’t go through the moments/sketches/poems until you’ve completed the week! Once you’re done, take everything in: What drew your eye? Are there patterns repeating? Is there a theme emerging? Then choose at least five of these moments to create a cohesive piece of work (a story, photo gallery, comic, painting, poem, et cetera) and send your lovely collection—along with your first name, last initial, age, and location—to [email protected] with the subject line “Creative Prompt” by Monday, October 3 at 6 PM EST.

Last week, we asked you to imagine having correspondence with someone in the distant future. Visions of both utopia and dystopia await…