Ahhh, a delicious, fresh blank canvas! As I said in my inaugural post, I have absolutely no idea what direction we're going in here - random content warning! I have a very eclectic mix of interests and lots of rocks rolling around in my head, so perhaps in time I'll get things streamlined or sectioned off into topics in here. Or...maybe not! Could be a big surprise potpourri here of posts too. I asked a friend the other day how I should get started with this. Her reply? Just write!
Born to blog...yes, I really think I was. I love to write and get things off my chest, document what's around me, funny stories from my past (and present). Goals, challenges, heartache, success - it's all there. In the past 10 years I've periodically taken up journaling during changes in my life - a way to harness my thoughts, celebrate the wonder of what the future brings (whatever it is) and keep insecurities in check.
In the spirit of being random...I always keep my iPod on shuffle. A few weeks ago "Cool Change" popped up. Little River Band, anyone? "Time for a cooooool chaaaaaaange." Yes, I do have a very schizo iPod mix - this song reminds me of slow dancing at junior high dances. But those lyrics kinda clanged extra loud in my head that night.
I started writing way, way back in elementary school. Someone - can't remember who - gave me a diary as a birthday gift. I was probably 11 or 12 years old. Never had a diary before and wasn't really wishing for one either. Just wasn't on the radar.
But something about that gift spoke to me. White hardcover with a black cat on the front and the words "my diary" in red cursive letters. And a key! A little key and a lock to keep all those thoughts wonderfully private, all to myself. No proofreading! No worries about handwriting, punctuation, spelling, grammar - no teacher's red pen marking up my work. What did this gift mean to me? Freedom of expression!
I still have that diary. Yep, 30 years later that diary is in a big bag with a bunch of others in my linen closet. [If my house was burning down that bag would be one of the things I would grab - no joke.] Boy I wrote in that diary. Every. Single. Day. Without fail. And when that one filled up? I got another one the next year...and kept writing every day - usually the last thing I did before I went to sleep. I don't know what compelled me to write every day; sometimes I went on for pages and other times just a few anecdotal things.
This continued for years all the way up through my high school graduation, believe it or not! I could probably count on one hand the number of days I missed writing in all those years. I took my diary everywhere - I wrote by flashlight in a tent, in a treehouse, on the ferry boat, wobbling on a waterbed, on the plane - wherever and whenever. Unstoppable! And when I traveled overseas after high school graduation for 6 weeks one of my favorite gifts was - you guessed it - a travel journal. It's chock full.
So I am once again rekindling my passion for the written word - this time in a more public venue, ha! But I'm not going to promise daily posts...I don't want anyone reading here nodding off at their keyboards!!
Sometimes words are deep, and sometimes they are shallow.
