You are in a room. It is fairly small though the vaulted ceiling gives the illusion of space. The walls are lined with bookshelves and painted a deep, cherry red. A clicking noise accompanies each step you take as you move across the hardwood floor. A smoky scent hangs in the room even though the intimate glow of the fireplace perished late last evening. Flecks of dust are framed by light spilling in through a window. Beneath the window is a desk. As you approach the desk, the clicking becomes muffled by an antique Persian rug. On the desk is a leather bound journal. It is clear that the journal has been used. The corners bend upward, the cover has scratches. The binding is slowly but surely unwinding itself in a dance of deterioration. Loose papers have been folded and shoved inside. They stick out precariously as if trying to escape from their prison of pages.
Despite its poor appearance, it is a treasure. Inside, you have everything your heart ever cried for, everything that made you laugh out loud while sitting alone in a public place, everything that you were, are, and want to be. This is your journal. This is you. Others may not always appreciate your ideas. Some will praise them. But then there are those people, out for blood, out to destroy everything you believe in. They are the ones who only know how to say “No”. But you don’t listen. You know, you believe, that somewhere in this ephemeral world there is a “yes”. And that is what keeps you going. That is what keeps you trying. What others don’t understand is that writing isn’t just a hobby for writers. Writing is a part of who we are, it is as visceral as our hearts which support our choice to be writers. We write not because we want to but because we need to.
I originally started this blog describing what I thought of when I think about a writer’s den. However, Instead of saying there is a typewriter on the desk like I was originally going to, I said journal. I made this switch because I actually carry a journal around. I would carry a typewriter but, well, that would be ridiculous.
As the description unfolded, my ideas began focusing more on writing itself than on my grandiose mental images of a writer’s den. The den I imagine is much like the cabin that Thomas Turner mentions in his article. It is ideal, but it is not realistic. We both like to pretend that writers live this desirable lifestyle and we both recognize that this actually isn’t the case. And we both have accepted the fact that we have to write. We did not choose it. It chose us.
I suppose my niche is creative writing. I love descriptions. I actually asked for a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary for Christmas one year. I’m not sure what else I would write about. If I had to make a list of 5 facts about myself I’d say:
1. I’m falling apart at the tender age of 21
2. I live with teachers
3. My brilliant boyfriend is a physics and economics double major
4. I have a weird taste in music
5. I have a soft spot for the occult, the paranormal, the whimsical, and the downright uncanny
My eyesight started going when I was about 6. At 15 I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I was medicated for 4 years until I met my boyfriend who coached me through my maelstrom of emotions and helped me take control of my feelings. I still have anxiety attacks at times but I no longer need the medication. At 18 I was diagnosed with Ventricular Tachycardia which meant getting a implanted defibrillator device. A month later, I developed type one diabetes. At 21, I’ve been told that I need my wisdom teeth removed and I found out today that I have a slight case of Raynaud’s disease. I’m also at risk for hyperthyroidism. My kidneys are pretty weak from the diabetes. Therefore I know a lot about health issues. The funny thing is, I’m an organ donor.
My Dad teaches TV Productions and Radio Broadcasting to high schoolers while my mom teaches high school English. My sister is an elementary school teacher. Many people think I will catch the teaching bug. I considered it, but I once almost shook a girl I was tutoring because she just did not understand algebra. I assume shaking children is unprofessional and frowned upon in most educational establishments. Anything I need to know about TVP, English, school children, and pedagogy I can learn from them.
My boyfriend really is brilliant. He got 5’s on 8 out of 9 AP exams. He wrote a paper on thermodynamics when we was 17 that got published by Jefferson University. Its sick how many questions he can get right when we watch Jeopardy. Anything I need to know, I can go to him for.
I have a weird taste in music. It is common to hear Eric Clapton, The Grateful Dead, The Decemberists, Back Street Boys, Kanye, and Beethoven on my iPod. I also have showtunes and foreign music (French, Japanese, Russian, Romainian, Serbian, etc.) I’ll listen to anything. Also, having grown up playing the piano, singing in 6 different choirs, playing in my high school’s string ensemble as concert mistress, the orchestra, and the pit orchestra, I know a thing or two about music. I think it would be fun to write lyrics and jingles. I’d even love to write scores and soundtracks if I had a better background in music theory.
Finally, I love abnormal things. Ghosts, vampires, fairies, folklore, mythology, origins and entomology, paganism, astrology, parapsychology, strange disorders, anything that strays from the norm. I love learning about these things and would be more than happy to research and write about them.
Where will I be in 5-10 years? Who the hell knows. Writing lyrics for an indie film with it's own original soundtrack may be fun. And writing the scripts for a sitcom would be cool too (that's where my Dad sees me in 5 years.) As a disney fan I would of course love to write the screenplay for a new movie. And I wouldn't mind writing for a magazine where I get to give my opinions. Whatever it is, I better not be in south jersey doing it. I want to travel. And I want to do it as soon as possible.
This was a long blog post. Whoops. Thanks for reading.
Despite its poor appearance, it is a treasure. Inside, you have everything your heart ever cried for, everything that made you laugh out loud while sitting alone in a public place, everything that you were, are, and want to be. This is your journal. This is you. Others may not always appreciate your ideas. Some will praise them. But then there are those people, out for blood, out to destroy everything you believe in. They are the ones who only know how to say “No”. But you don’t listen. You know, you believe, that somewhere in this ephemeral world there is a “yes”. And that is what keeps you going. That is what keeps you trying. What others don’t understand is that writing isn’t just a hobby for writers. Writing is a part of who we are, it is as visceral as our hearts which support our choice to be writers. We write not because we want to but because we need to.
I originally started this blog describing what I thought of when I think about a writer’s den. However, Instead of saying there is a typewriter on the desk like I was originally going to, I said journal. I made this switch because I actually carry a journal around. I would carry a typewriter but, well, that would be ridiculous.
As the description unfolded, my ideas began focusing more on writing itself than on my grandiose mental images of a writer’s den. The den I imagine is much like the cabin that Thomas Turner mentions in his article. It is ideal, but it is not realistic. We both like to pretend that writers live this desirable lifestyle and we both recognize that this actually isn’t the case. And we both have accepted the fact that we have to write. We did not choose it. It chose us.
I suppose my niche is creative writing. I love descriptions. I actually asked for a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary for Christmas one year. I’m not sure what else I would write about. If I had to make a list of 5 facts about myself I’d say:
1. I’m falling apart at the tender age of 21
2. I live with teachers
3. My brilliant boyfriend is a physics and economics double major
4. I have a weird taste in music
5. I have a soft spot for the occult, the paranormal, the whimsical, and the downright uncanny
My eyesight started going when I was about 6. At 15 I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I was medicated for 4 years until I met my boyfriend who coached me through my maelstrom of emotions and helped me take control of my feelings. I still have anxiety attacks at times but I no longer need the medication. At 18 I was diagnosed with Ventricular Tachycardia which meant getting a implanted defibrillator device. A month later, I developed type one diabetes. At 21, I’ve been told that I need my wisdom teeth removed and I found out today that I have a slight case of Raynaud’s disease. I’m also at risk for hyperthyroidism. My kidneys are pretty weak from the diabetes. Therefore I know a lot about health issues. The funny thing is, I’m an organ donor.
My Dad teaches TV Productions and Radio Broadcasting to high schoolers while my mom teaches high school English. My sister is an elementary school teacher. Many people think I will catch the teaching bug. I considered it, but I once almost shook a girl I was tutoring because she just did not understand algebra. I assume shaking children is unprofessional and frowned upon in most educational establishments. Anything I need to know about TVP, English, school children, and pedagogy I can learn from them.
My boyfriend really is brilliant. He got 5’s on 8 out of 9 AP exams. He wrote a paper on thermodynamics when we was 17 that got published by Jefferson University. Its sick how many questions he can get right when we watch Jeopardy. Anything I need to know, I can go to him for.
I have a weird taste in music. It is common to hear Eric Clapton, The Grateful Dead, The Decemberists, Back Street Boys, Kanye, and Beethoven on my iPod. I also have showtunes and foreign music (French, Japanese, Russian, Romainian, Serbian, etc.) I’ll listen to anything. Also, having grown up playing the piano, singing in 6 different choirs, playing in my high school’s string ensemble as concert mistress, the orchestra, and the pit orchestra, I know a thing or two about music. I think it would be fun to write lyrics and jingles. I’d even love to write scores and soundtracks if I had a better background in music theory.
Finally, I love abnormal things. Ghosts, vampires, fairies, folklore, mythology, origins and entomology, paganism, astrology, parapsychology, strange disorders, anything that strays from the norm. I love learning about these things and would be more than happy to research and write about them.
Where will I be in 5-10 years? Who the hell knows. Writing lyrics for an indie film with it's own original soundtrack may be fun. And writing the scripts for a sitcom would be cool too (that's where my Dad sees me in 5 years.) As a disney fan I would of course love to write the screenplay for a new movie. And I wouldn't mind writing for a magazine where I get to give my opinions. Whatever it is, I better not be in south jersey doing it. I want to travel. And I want to do it as soon as possible.
This was a long blog post. Whoops. Thanks for reading.
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