How to Begin
Chronicling my new life in the city has been on my mind since I moved to New York more than a year ago. But then--like now, as I type and delete, type and delete--I came up with excuses for not writing. Most of them centered on fear. Fear of not being able to write the way I wanted to. Fear of not being able to capture my experiences eloquently. Fear of creating a "dear diary" that people read in much the same spirit as they watch reality TV. Much of it centered on focus, as well, something I've never been particularly good at when it comes to ideas. Would it be the story of my life? Would it be some sort of esoteric comment on the urban condition? Would I take absolutely amazing photos that perfectly juxtaposed all the people and places and crazy experiences that tumble into each other on the sidewalks, on the subway and in the streets? Instead of just letting it happen, I've let it languish. And so here it is. Perhaps it will be a bit like reality TV (but without the carefully crafted melodrama), but hopefully it will capture just a bit of the beauty--real or imagined--that I catch glimpses of every day.
I leave you with this, a poem, courtesy of Frank O'Hara.
TODAY
Oh! kangaroos, sequins, chocolate sodas!
You really are beautiful! Pearls,
harmonicas, jujubes, aspirins! all
the stuff they've always talked about
still makes a poem a surprise!
These things are with us every day
even on beachheads and biers. They
do have meaning. They're strong as rocks.
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You were planning a wedding. I think that's a good excuse for not starting this earlier.
Well that is quite an opener! I'm both intruigued and intimidated - will I feel ashamed of the terrible quality of my own writing every time you post? Or, will I want to throw all of my belongings into the back of a u-haul and high-tail it up to NYC?
miss you!
Well, you're off to a fabulous start! I'm impressed. It's challenging to make yourself write when there's no deadline, but it's rewarding too. Hopefully (as she blushes abashedly at the thought of her own neglected blog, Pistachio Pudding) you'll have more luck in the motivation department than I've had!
the first start to any blog is to get people to read it. the way you do that is writing about anyone that could possibly read it in vauge, nondescript ways so that at any time five people think they're the one's being chastised for not noticing your new hair cut.