hello, friend.

I'm J.
I had planned on writing a post that listed a bunch of things about myself, but I couldn't think of that many interesting things worth listing.  So instead, I'll just tell you my favorite thing about myself: my writing.
I am in love with writing.  I always have been, even when I didn't know it.  I was the girl who got in trouble for staying up past her bedtime, sneaking a flashlight under the covers to read just one more chapter.  I would sneak into my mom's room and read her books--books that I didn't understand or even particularly enjoy--simply because I was in love with the words.  I was in love with the writing.  I wrote a few poems in elementary school, but it wasn't until middle school that I truly discovered how writing things for myself could made me feel.  When I was sad, I would write about being sad.  When I was confused, I would write about that.  When someone hurt me, I would write a song or a story about them.  It wasn't so much that doing those things made me feel any better, it was simply that they made me feel.  I had created something out of my situation, I had penned it onto paper, and it now existed solely because of me.  In a time as confusing and self-conscious as middle school, that was a wonderful feeling.
Through high school and college, my desire to create only grew.  I continued to read and write more than I did anything else.  I don't have an answer to the question of why I write, other than that I have to.  I know it is what I was created to do, and if I am not doing it, I am suppressing and running away from the dream that was awakened inside of me at such a young age.
So, here is where I am today:
I want am going to write a book.  I started it last Summer, but graduating college and planning a wedding (oh, that's something I could mention about myself--I got married four weeks ago!) made it difficult to keep myself on task.  For the first time in a long time, I have extra time on my hands, and I am using that time to write, write, and write some more.
I have 60 pages in my book so far, and my goal is to have it completed by my birthday in April.  I know it will take a ton of work and focus, but this is something L and I are serious about.  We're going to help each other accomplish our dreams, and post about it along the way.
I cannot wait to write all about my struggles and triumphs with writing here, and then one day, when my book gets picked up and published, be able to look back at this blog and see exactly how I got there.
I hope you come along for the ride.

xoxo,

J