I had to write a couple of “discussion board” entries for my comp class tonight, so I thought I’d share them here!
For as long as I can recall, I’ve enjoyed writing. I am a talker, to be sure, but I’ve always found it easier and more enjoyable to communicate using the written word. As early as second or third grade, I can recall writing a “book” with my girlfriends. We each wrote a chapter, and made copies for one another, and I cherish it as one of my favorite memories.
Given the opportunity to combine two of my favorite activities, writing and football, I was thrilled to accept an internship with what would later become ESPN Insider in 2000. I ate up the opportunity to fly all over the country covering various football games and then recount the details- both statistical and personal- for millions across the United States to read. I lapped up the surprised comments (both positive and negative) that I received from college football lovers from Southern California to West Point, and everywhere in between, as they raised eyebrows at the thought of a female sportswriter. It is an experience that taught me much– about professionalism, networking, sexism, football, and of course, writing.
Friends and loved-ones often tease me for being a “Nazi” when it comes to writing form and grammar. I wear this title with pride, as there was once a time when I struggled with subjects such as spelling and structure. I can recall a particular week when I was in second grade, and I made a failing grade on a spelling test. I was humiliated as I was made to sit in an empty room and write my set of words ten times each, while my fellow classmates watched a movie in the next room. Although it broke me then, I think that it was these early experiences, where I was forced to settle down long enough to learn a craft, that made me the competent and fairly talented writer that I am today.
Call it laziness, but most all of my writing these days happens on my little laptop computer, while sitting propped up against pillows on my bed. I blog regularly– usually two to three times a week– and I find that I write the most between 6:00pm and midnight. There are always exceptions to that rule, though.
I enjoy people-watching, so any time I can find the time to venture out to some place moderately populated, preferably where music floats as my company. I avoid Starbucks and other pretentious corporate institutions, lest I become proud. Oddly, I find that I enjoy sitting in bars, and sometimes loud restaurants. The conversations heard while only slightly eavesdropping, and the barely audible, but incredibly familiar lines of 90s rock-n-roll serve as muses for my quaint little online journal. I am inspired by the atmosphere around me.
Sometimes, though, I’ll find myself with a small journal in hand, and I’ll jot down thoughts, phrases, prose of sorts, and sometimes single words that float through my head. I enjoy using thick ink, like that from a felt-tipped pen or a Uniball. It somehow makes my incessant nothingness seem just a little dignified when written in bold ink.
