Journals 7-9

Intro

Have you ever wanted more? Not more money, or more fame, or more stuff, but more out of life. Have you ever stopped in the middle of your day and said "What the hell am I doing all of this for?" Day after day you go to your job or your school and you know what will happen the next day, more work or more school. Have you ever said "If only I had more money I would just drop everything and get away."? If so, you are not alone. For some reason people continue to believe that it is necessary to wake up each day and hate where it is they are going, only to go to bed that night knowing they have to go to the same place the next day, and the next. Have you ever stopped for a minute and just listened to what was happening around you? Put down your phone, stop ordering your coffee, sit for a minute and just be. Though for some to be is not enough, they must be something. Know that you are not alone in your want to just be. Others have struggled with this want in a society full of somethings, so just know that you are not alone.

“In reality, long-term travel has nothing to do with demographics- age, ideology, income- and everything to do with personal outlook. Long-term travel isn’t about being a college student; it’s about being a student of daily life. Long-term travel isn’t an act of rebellion against society; it’s an act of common sense within society. Long-term travel doesn’t require a massive ‘bundle of cash’; it requires only that we walk through the world in a more deliberate way.”            –Rolf Potts

Prologue

            This isn’t one of those stories where the hero writes about their amazing story and how they have accomplished so much and so can you. Where after a three year break of whatever it was that was heroic they figured they would write it down. Some record their story for money. Others for fame. However, there are those that write to hopefully have others learn and expire others. This is not a cocky “I accomplished (blank) so I know what I’m talking about so listen”. It is simply a record of how an experience or journey changed or affected them, so if others can get something out of their story then all the better.

            Let me make it clear right away, I am no hero. I didn’t save an old lady and her cat from a burning house. I didn’t fight in wars across seas. I didn’t lead my team to glory. I am simply a girl that without certain knowledge would have hated her life. Without life changing advice and guidance, would have ended up as another cog of society, a future laid out before her. I heard the words of a writer and knew they were spoken to me. That what my life was destined to be was in no way unchangeable. I wasn’t destined to be a princess or a prostitute or anything with a life full of jewels or johns. But more I only had one mind set of what my life could be in this world, and everyone I surrounded myself with supported this mind set. It is not a mindset unlike many others. I am no hero for choosing to choose where my life would go, but still I might have saved it.

            I was simply a teenage girl. I had done everything right or so some would say. Played sports most my life and did fine. Was a good student and could choose from a number of universities. Extracurriculars, church, Sunday school, family, a couple nice boyfriends, friends, job, dog, shopping, tv, volunteering, facebook. Everything needed to make an eighteen year old girl in middle America happy right? I do not want to sound ungrateful for having a good upbringing, a solid family structure, good education, and a social life. I know that I won the lottery of life in being born who I am. I stopped complaining aloud at a young age when I figured this and eventually got good and not even complaining to myself.  But I found myself stuck in a life where I could see decades ahead. All of a sudden I wanted to live spontaneously, not knowing what would happen one day to the rest. I looked around for help and guidance but everyone around me reassured me that this was a normal reaction to graduating and that I just need to pick a school and push on.

            I did not push on. I made a choice for myself and stuck to it. I changed my life. It was not easy and I would not have been able to without guidance. I am writing this for you, whoever may read this, now ten years later hoping to make it clear that there are other options. You may be completely fine with where you are headed in life and that is great. But if you are not, if you are searching for what you want out of this one short life, not knowing the array of options and adventures to be had, then please continue reading.

            I am no hero. I have done very little heroic. I simply made a decision that I thank myself for making every single day. I hope that I can maybe inspire those to make the correct decisions for their own lives or at least explore the options of life.

First Chapter idea

My hope is that I can grab the audience’s attention with the intro, and effectively introduce them to the main character with the prologue. My hope is that the prologue makes the character relatable and gives a tone to the piece right away. I then want to move into a narrative where the narrator still gives insight on these past experiences. I want to begin the chapter with the narrator going to a reading from a travel writer visiting a university in a neighboring town. She is struck by what he says and she has not felt this kind of excitement inside her before. As a naïve teenager she takes it for affection and begins to romanticize about the writer while he answers questions from the audience. She introduces herself afterwards and she asks (almost begs) to meet with him on campus the next day for coffee and to discuss his travels in more details. In this conversation he realizes that she may have romantic feelings for him and he sets her straight. She was thinking that maybe an affair with an older man was the excitement she was looking for but instead she received guidance that will change her life. They exchange emails and agree to stay in contact and he becomes a source of inspiration for her to leave behind the life she does not want.

I decided to try the suggestion you gave about writing the character from a female’s POV. It has not been a challenge yet but I imagine I will have to work and actively be aware about the possible differences in dialogue that I would write for each sex. When that suggestion was given I thought about it and realized I have written very little with strong female characters or a female character as being the main protagonist. This will surely be something new and exciting for my writing which is always needed.

I’m just curious if I have set up the chapter well with the intro and prologue or if it may be too much. Do I need to jump into dialogue and action sooner? Will writing from the first person work well for this story? And any other suggestions or questions are very much appreciated.