Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Secretary by Day, Writer by Night

Looking through old photographs, school projects and childhood drawings always brings back memories, laughs and embarrassment. Last weekend I decided that I was going to clean and organize. That usually translates to pulling the trash can out and throwing away everything that I no longer need. I usually have some sense of remorse following these episodes of de-cluttering, but it quickly fades when I forget what I threw away.

As I was digging through an old box, that I was just about to toss, I came across several stories that I had written as a child. There were several stories about cats and princesses and most of them began with the story time classic, "once upon a time." They were filled with half sentences, misspelled words and crayon drawings. After reading my hilarious attempts at story-writing, it dawned on me that I have always written. There has not been a time, since I learned to write, that I have not put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Writing has allowed me to get all of the thoughts that are running through my head, down on paper. Writing has been a great outlet for me and because of it, I have learned and grown more than I ever thought possible. After trying out many majors in college, I finally decided on journalism, which allowed me to develop my writing and my thinking skills. And most importantly, journalism made me happy.

Journalism was what finally fit. During my last three years of college, I told myself that I wanted to do something in journalism after graduation. But after graduation I had to face the real world and the real world story is that I am a secretary by day and a writer by night. For the past year and eight months I have mostly written in my journals, but I am proud to announce that I will be writing in a professional capacity starting in February. I will be writing a monthly newsletter for Janice Sullivan, an amazingly talented and creative photographer. Welcome to my blog, my story and my life as a writer. Here is to another one of life's crazy adventures.