What I'm Listening To: Poe - Hey Pretty
What I'm Doing: Reading Sunshine by Robin McKinley, and debating on whether or not I should brave the weather and walk to 7-11.
I was going to say something about this in the comments of Jess Jordan's blog, but then I realised with the way I talk, especially about writing, I'd be better off putting it in it's own post.
She talked briefly about how she always wanted to be a writer, but got somewhat distracted on the path to becoming a lawyer (I believe that's what she said... my bad memory in action: I just read her blog not ten minutes ago.) and then picked up writing again when she was fed up with it.
I hear a lot of people say that. "Well, I've always wanted to be a writer."
Well, by that logic I've always wanted to be an astronaut, a singer, an actress, a marine biologist, a storm-chaser, an archaeologist, an artist, the list goes on. Whatever I was interested in at the time, I wanted to be. Twister came out; I wanted to chase tornadoes. I was in love with JTT (remember him?) - I wanted to be an actress. But the only thing that's ever come from within me, with no outside influences, was writing.
I had a diary in second grade, it was heart shaped, with pink, heart-shaped paper, and the last thing I recall reading out of it was my 'script' for a sequel to "Shiloh" (a movie I don't even remember now, except that it had something to do with a dog.) and a "script" for a romantic sort of movie that takes place in Australia (even at such a young age, I was in love with the Australian accent. I blame this entirely on Jake from The Rescuers Down Under.)
What I was really doing was not 'script-writing' as I imagined at the time, but writing a fanfic, and my first original story. In first or second grade. True, they weren't very original, but I was six or seven at the most.
And I've always had an overactive imagination. As a toddler (one of the very few memories of my childhood that I retain) I recall being laid in my crib for a 'nap' but instead, I sat among my stuffed animals and created fantastic stories with them. I was a solitary child, a product of too much reading, and bullying. None of the kids liked me, for whatever reason, so I turned ever further into my books, and was never happier than when I was by myself. Another fond childhood memory is being on a swing set and swinging so high that I imagined I would simply float off the seat and drift away to adventures unimaginable to the kids who had nothing better to do than pick on a quiet girl who made no fuss. I would climb trees or find solitary corners, and read for hours; something that hasn't changed in the least.
Thankfully, at least, my skill as a writer has improved, and continues to do so. Eventually, I want to go to college, and get my masters in Creative Writing. (MFA, I believe is what it's called, but I could be utterly wrong.)
A lot of people say they've always wanted to be a writer. I have no way of judging whether they actually have or not, but I can say honestly, that from the moment I learned to form letters on paper, I haven't WANTED to be a writer - I've BEEN a writer.
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Wow. The first link to my blog. I must say, that's kind of exciting. (by the way, I have no idea how to link to a page like that, w/whatever description you want--i.e., "jess jordan's blog," instead of just typing in the url, i.e., blogspot.com/jessjordan or whatever it is. does that make sense?)
ReplyDeleteI just got back from my second day of wallpaper removal hell at my new house, and, although I'm spent for the day (an unheard of feat for it being so early), I had to sit down for my blog stalking time. Just read your comments and the blog above, and thought I'd post a quick reply before I pass out from my day of overexertion. (For many, it's probably normal exertion, but manual labor is not my forte.)
You did a pretty decent paraphrase of my blog: i wrote, got interested in law, went to law school, started writing again, took the bar, passed the bar, got a big girl attorney job, and kept writing, writing, working, working, writing. I, like you, have wanted to be a million things growing up, and I also remember thinking, "I HAVE to chase tornadoes! How did I not know this before today??" A few of my other interests were becoming a teacher, a photographer, a professional scrapbooker, a chef, a business owner, a lottery winner (we can all dream, right?), a director, an actress, and whatever that job is called where you pick out music for television shows (I would still love to do that one). The only constant, the only thing that I returned to b/c I wanted to and because it was just me, was writing.
About the writing and the SA contest: I'll post a blog for you w/that info----but just so you know, you didn't tear it to shreds. :D
I have a million things to that I know I wanted to say, but my brain has severed its wires for the evening. And (ick!), tomorrow I must return to the paycheck world.
Happy evening, night, and morning.