Day 1

What have I done?!

I'm 35 years old today; this feels like a milestone, or at least the halfway point between milestones.  It is a time for reflection, a time to pause and measure yourself.  (I'm 5' 9")  As I began to approach this day, I remembered how I love writing, and I began to feel sorry for myself that I didn't write much anymore.  When I was in high school, I was writing 2-3 times a week.  When I was in college, if I wasn't writing for pleasure, I was certainly writing my fair share for my coursework.  In grad school, I took creative writing courses as electives.  Essentially, I was carving out the time to write.

But then I got a real job.  And a house.  And responsibilities.

And I stopped writing.

Anytime I would think about writing again (and there have been times), it wasn't easy.  It was work.

Reflecting on this more, my sorrow and regret turned into a tinge of anger.  I'm angry at myself: for not taking the time to write anymore, for not carving out space in my responsibilities, for letting my skills wane and rust.

Then I realized I can do something about that.  I don't need to be angry at myself.  Anger rarely solves  a problem, but it can be a powerful catalyst in problem-solving.  I can channel that energy into something more productive.  And productive I will be...

I am pledging to myself, to my family and my friends, to my son that I will write something every day for the next year.  For my 36th year.  Not everything will be fantastic writing; in fact, I expect most of it to border on crap, but it will be there.  Every day.  Some days it will be more like a journal documenting the happenings of my life.  Other days it may be poetry or story ideas.  I may even write an essay or two about topics that interest me... maybe open letters to loved ones.  I don't know what I will feel compelled to write about from day to day.  I do know that there will be days where I'm not compelled to write at all, save for the commitment I'm making here.

So here it is: Day 1 in the books so-to-speak.  Only 364 more days to go.

Wish me luck.

P.S. feel free to comment, to offer suggestions, to tell me I'm crazy... because I'm crazy.