Words

I have a passion. My passion is generic and inconsequential to most. My passion serves no higher purpose. Like most passions it is a blessing and a curse all at once. My passion is words. I have always had an ingrained awareness and desire towards understanding language and words to the degree that I toil over the simplest phrases and sentences. I am by no stretch a grammatician, language savant, or human dictionary. In fact, quite the opposite. But my passion for literature, language and alike is very much a part of me as much as my eyes are brown, as much as I am my father’s daughter, as much as I know the sun will rise tomorrow. It just is.

For my final project in my last class at the University of Washington, I focused my energies that final quarter on self-publishing a book. Over the 3.5 years at the U, I had kept a running document with various quotes from movies, music, friends, teachers, boyfriends, etc. I was looking for a medium to capture all these tidbits in a more cohesive and absolute form. Here was my opportunity to do such a thing so I jumped at the chance. Fast forward approximately 6 weeks, I had in hand the final product. A book titled, “Just Right: A Collection.” The following is an excerpt from the introduction:

“Since the beginning of human language we have combined sounds, pieced them together into words, combined those into phrases which ultimately take shape as some form of communication. What we hear, read, or say to each other has an inexplicable potential to strike a chord within us that resonates beyond the intended meaning. Its baffling, that when you think that the sounds that come out of your mouth, are just that, sounds. Letters that are written on paper are just scribbles. But when you add meaning, interpretation, and action behind them, they become the most powerful tools in the world.”

It is that process and ultimately final production that inspired me to pursue my dream of working in publishing. Through the help of so many I truly lived a dream, often times a nightmare, of working in book publishing while living in Manhattan. Three and a half years later I have collected another 33 pages of quotes, quips, musings, mutterings, etc. It grows almost daily.

However, when it comes to writing, I generally shy away from it. Recently, I have been encouraged and been stewing over to blog or to not blog. I read a handful of blogs regularly to keep updated on the adventures of my friends who live far more inspiring/interesting lives than I do. But recently I have been ever so tempted to start. But before doing so, I present before you are a few arguments that have kept me from blogging:

1. I’ve always thought it was highly pretentious to think that whatever I had to say someone actually cared to read;
2. There are so many writers, lyricist, friends, etc., out there who have said what I’m thinking but far more eloquently than I ever could;
3. I’m not particularly a fan of writing. I am not a writer. I’m a reader and a collector. I collect many things: paper bags, old pictures, receipts, useless information, personal grudges, memories, buttons from new clothes that I know I’ll never use, recipes I’ll never cook, jars, the list goes on.

All these arguments aside, I’m here….blogging. How very 2000 of me.

In closing to my first bog entry, I will leave you with this final section from my book that I believe encompasses why words and language strike a cord so deeply in me that the feelings are impossible to ignore. While I make no great claims to be a writer, writing for me is an avenue to experience words and language. I hope a reader can experience similar sentiments, but ultimately, it is the connection to something larger than myself that I am continually in search of. Words and language are the vessel for me to do that.

“Some stem from great times in my life where love, happiness, and confidence reigned higher than anything. Others come from points in life where perspective was skewed, weakness was saturating, and anger was uncontrollable. Some of them made me laugh out loud, some challenged me, some made my heart stop and some took my breath. But all of them got through to some part that connected me. I can tell you where I was when I first heard or saw many of these quotes. Words have the power to engrave a memory that is stored in the back of your consciousness, always there - ready for recollection. That’s the amazing power of words: they can get to you deeper than any thing, power or person ever can. It gets to that spot inside that make you feel . . . just right.”