June 20, 2011

In the endless effort to cleanout my belongs and simplify my life, I’ve run across some really interesting items. On Saturday afternoon I sat on the floor of the garage apartment pouring over a box containing some college essays. I spent a couple of hours laughing my a$$ off at some of the things I wrote 30+ years ago.

My favorite essay was a piece of thrash titled, “Themes, Motifs and Symbols Found in Paradise Lost.” I remember thinking I was being so clever using “lost” and “found” in the title. I was sure that my professor would appreciate the juxtaposition of terms in my title, since Milton used opposites throughout Paradise Lost: heaven and hell, God and Satan, light and dark, good and evil, etc. But my English literature professor apparently didn’t share my sense of creativity, since I got the opposite reaction from what I expected. I got lots of less-than-positive comments about my writing talents scribbled in red ink on the last page of my essay, followed by a big, ugly grade of C+. On my way to the garbage bin with the box of college essays, I paused for a moment as I passed by a framed copy of the introduction page from the first article I wrote for Texas Monthly magazine. My creativity may have been lost on college essays, but I found other outlets for my passion. I wonder what my ole professor was doing now?

Today I’m creating jewelry. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when lots of corporate executives are on vacation, my writing business really slows. Although I miss receiving checks in the mail, I feel lucky that I get to spend more time beading, sewing, cooking, gardening, and otherwise crafting and creating.