chapter one (in which our bespectacled heroine attempts to start writing again)

i have always been a writer. and i have always enjoyed writing. but one day about 6 years ago...i just kind of stopped.

there are lots of things i could blame it on. being an adult, moving 500 miles away, working all the time, not doing anything fun, being in a relationship that took up way too much of my energy to keep afloat. but, really, i stopped pushing myself to write. and even after i left that draining relationship, i didn't pick it back up. even though i had some funny work stories, i didn't pick it back up. i made friends and had some minor adventures, but i still didn't pick it back up. and now i'll be 30 in a matter of months and i've promised myself i'm picking it back up. even if it's kind of boring. even if it's of no interest to anyone but me. i'm picking it back up. and hopefully i'll not set it down again.

i look at things i wrote when i was younger, and it does make me sad. i don't know where that girl went, but i want her back. she was fun. she was happy. she was creative. and i'm hoping she's still in here somewhere. maybe a little older, a little wiser. but still here.

i'm still here.