Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Turning of New Leaves on All Hallow's Eve

|Credit [x]|

Halloween Night is the best time, in my book, to begin something new. I have always celebrated Samhain on November 1st. For me, it honors the dead, but it also is the Witch's New Year. It is time once again to turn over a new leaf.

This year my goal is to remember to like the internet. What I mean by that is to really care about keeping a blog. I found out in an side comment that my final creative nonfiction class will require a blog to be kept. I am in the beginner's class at the moment, but I figured that tonight was the night if I were going to put some real effort forth.

In the past, I just blogged to write. I never blogged because I cared about the theme of my writing on it. It was like my actual physical journal, which is another thing that goes untouched unless something important needs to be recorded. This time, my third attempt, I have finally realized that a theme needed to be established. I asked myself, "Self, what is the next most important thing besides writing in your life right now?" I answered honestly, and I quote my answer, "Well, self -- I don't have a boyfriend at the moment, so I suppose the next thing after that would be Paganism." And so the idea was established. Writing and Witchcraft. Combine that with being a Student (and I will always be a student who writes and who is a witch) and now we have some structure to the chaos of a blog that existed before.

I was inspired because in one of my Creative Writing classes today, we covered the material of our next guest speaker who started her blog before her advanced nonfiction class and kept it going through the rest of her college career and now into her professional life. It is still often updated. It still sticks to the same basic themes, with a few plot twists.

Now I understand. My focus is absolutely clear. My roommate even wrote me a reminder sticky note and kindly posted it above my desk:

Aw! How sweet.
Now I have this note, and a tiny spark of will toward the project. Maybe I can think in terms of a work-in-progress instead of my demise or a chore.

And yeah, I do still say that putting all one's effort into a blog instead of writing a book is counter productive and senseless. This is my side project. This will not be a go-to website for all the pagan information myself or my author-y friends will write down in the future. This is about me and my experience with my religion and my craft.

This post was not entirely steeped in witchcraft as my future posts may be, as you may have read, but keep an eye out. Wait and see!