When I was at Marshall, classes with the number 101 after them meant “introductory”. I will assume that’s fairly universal. So, is this an introduction? Not really.
This happens to be the 101st blog I have posted to “Adventure with a Purpose.”
I explained early on that I believe life is supposed to be about more than just marking time. As I scan back through the previous 100 posts, I see some common themes: travel, exploration, discovery, talking about issues, examining the things that are important to me and experiencing new things. I think I’ve kept to my theme pretty well, if I do say so myself.
About three months ago, I refocused this blog away from international toward local when I moved back to West Virginia. I think of it now as a chance to rediscover my roots and allow my creativity to flow in a new direction.
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about seeing live music. Yesterday, I was listening to the song “Twin Rocks, Oregon” by Shaun Mullins. This lyric struck me:
I said “I don’t reckon i’ll be makin it big, you know it’s hard to get rich off a tout of coffee house gigs”
and he said “yeah, but ain’t it a blessin to do what you wanna do…”
and he said “yeah, but ain’t it a blessin to do what you wanna do…”
While my music ability is extremely limited, I identify with people who perform music in the small clubs and coffee houses. They are doing what they love and they keep hammering away at it. They might dream of fortune and fame, but they know it isn’t going to come from playing for 20 people sipping coffee. They are playing for themselves, honing their skills and working at their craft, hoping that one day they will make it. If they don’t, at least they can say they tried and had some fun along the way.
I think of myself as a story teller. Some of them are fiction, some of them are true. In some other cases, the lines get a little blurry. Several years ago, someone asked me why I haven’t written much about West Virginia. I didn’t have a good answer for that question. Maybe it was too close, and maybe it was too far away. I get the feeling that’s about to change. Every day new idea pops into my head…so many in fact that my fiancée has taken to rolling her eyes when a conversation starts with “I have this idea for a new project…” and the dry erase board I use to track projects is getting pretty full.
Eye-rolling aside, this is when I’m happy. When ideas are flowing and I’m excited about creating. In the last couple months, I have finished up a new novel (and am currently shopping it around), two new kids stories and am working on a new diving short story. I’ve also started a documentary project interviewing veterans about their experiences. I have “lots of ideas” for that project. And I do have this new kernel of an idea bouncing around inside my brain about a fiction project set in West Virginia (finally!).
So, maybe this is my “101” course. I’ll definitely be proud to identify with the “creative-types” who are out there every day, working on their craft. And, of course, day dreaming about what it means to make it.