I Turned 35 Today. Here’s What I’m Going to Do Each Day for the Rest of My Life.

Day 1

Every once in a while, an idea seizes you — it resonates with you deeply and instantly and with certainty. Such an idea came to my mind yesterday, on the eve of my 35th birthday. It was, simply, to write intentionally for every day I have left on this earth.

Every day, for the rest of my life, I’ll write something original and with intention. Neither length nor time spent matters; merely that I sit down and take the time to write something.

As we turn into teenagers and young adults, many of us fall into a strange phase called adulthood, where we forget what made us get out of bed in the morning. We forget our passions — the ones that were with us from the time we were very young — and spend years trying to find them again.

From the very start, I wrote. The stories I churned out when I was 6 and 7 made mom and dad cringe, I’m sure, but they smiled and patted me on my head and encouraged me to continue with my literary finger paintings and stick figures. I kept at it, writing stories because I wanted to, never thinking or caring what others would think of them, or if they were good enough, or if I could get paid for them. I was, as children are, oblivious to everything but the act itself. Merely doing, for the sake of it, was enough. Why we lose this drive as we age is beyond my understanding.

Anyhoo, I wallowed around for a long time, writing occasionally, keeping a semi-regular journal, but not really writing. Then, for a number of reasons, I remembered what I loved, what my gift is, what I’m supposed to share. I’ve read in many places variations on the theme of writers write and if you want to be a writer, write.

So, the only way to do that is to… do it. The only way to be a writer is to write. So here I am. Not every day will be a post like this. I’m not writing here because I think anyone will particularly care. Nope. Just like in childhood, I’m doing this because I want to — because it must be done. Because letting people know what you’re about — announcing your goals — makes you more accountable.

I want you all to know that I’m going to be writing each day until I drop dead, so feel free to ask me how it’s going, to tell me you’ll firebomb my house if I don’t keep it up, etc. And look for a book in the near future. It’ll probably take forever, but I have stories in me that need to be told, so who am I to stop them?

Plus, there’s a big part of me that knows at least a few people (ahem, Ashley Hollis) who would be verrrry disappointed if I didn’t write down all those adventures that are dancing around in my head like fizzy electrons.

Originally published at www.zerofoxgiven.net on March 16, 2017