As you aspire to be a writer you should view life itself as a writer would. All experiences - both your own and other people's, whether happy,sad,frustating or tragic-should be seen and examined as potential material for you to use. This is especially important for students who plan to be novelists or short story writers.
In order to make the most of what is happening around you,you should try to use all your senses all the time. Nothing should escape your keen observation and scrutiny. You should become an enquiring person. Ask yourself question about why things are being done, the background to events, the circumstances that surround them and the reaction of both those involved and those merely obsrving. There are ideas for stories, articles and news items all around, if only you can recognise them.
What is important is the ability to analyse an incident in order to use it as the basis for an article, news item or short story. Observation plus questions should stimulate your imagination into creativity.