BIG Project!

Some of you may know that I used to write poetry - a lot. I always like to say that for what I lacked in quality, I made up for in quantity (and I still do - this blog is evidence). haha.
I contributed many many many poems to our high school literary magazine, and worked as co-editor my senior year. I also did 2 years of a creative writing independent study (since it wasn't offered as a course at my school) - and this required me to write a lot, a lot, a lot.

So, I've had this box full of ALL my originals. Some I've thought were quite good. Others were downright silliness. Many were full of boy crazy heartache, teen angst, misery and other hormonal madness which comes with the territory of moody teenage girls. My oh my oh my.

But I got it into my head many years ago that this would make a somewhat interesting, although admittedly skewed, view of my life history if I were to make a compilation of ALL OF IT chronologically (because, after all, I didn't write poems about everything - almost, but not exactly). A sort of "story of my life through the poems I wrote."

I started with this monstrous project a few years ago. Maybe 5 years? I typed up 50 of my poems and put them in a huge 3-inch 3 ring binder and gave it to Zac for Christmas with the intention that I would eventually get all my stuff typed up and put in sheet protectors in the binder.

Well. That was before I joined the wonderful world of blogging. And before I discovered such marvelous tools such as mypublisher.com and blurb.com where you can, indeed, publish your own book. What more could a closet poet want!!!

So, I've been thinking about all the new found options this brings me over the last couple years - but my box has continued to overwhelm me with it's prospects. Really, there are probably hundreds of lame and pathetic poetic attempts in my box that I would want to include from my pre-adolescent years to present day (being nothing if not thorough).

And then, last week I got a notice from a friend here (and former neighbor) who as done just that. Shelley has taken all her poems from her youth to present and put them on a blog. And I must say she inspired me to revisit this little (little!?! ha!) project of mine.

I've started the blog. It's quite exciting to me. And if and when I decide to share, I will be sure to let you know. Some are really quite embarrassing and I haven't decided yet if I am really willing to let curious eyes glimpse into my bare naked soul (yikes).

But anyway - just wanted to share the excitement over starting (and restarting) a big project that has been on my list of goals for years and years. I had some pictures I took of "the box" and some of the old notebooks I have from middle school (!) - but I haven't been able to get them uploaded right now. Maybe I'll share those later.

What about you? Do you have any big projects you've been meaning to get around to?