The Rock That Hit My Head

Sorry guys - this isn't a post related to books. At least, not really . . .

Like a huge chunk of book lovers, I want to make a living off writing novels. Because of this, last year I entered my public library's annual poetry. The topic was inspiration: what inspires you, what is means to you etc. I wrote down a bunch of stuff about sunsets and rainbows and set it in with my fingers crossed. A few weeks later I found out that I was one of the winners. I got a library T-shirt three sizes too big, a coupon for one free used book and a reading notes journal. People at the library told me how much my poem inspired them and I was happy. I was on my way to becoming a published author.

Now, almost a year after that contest, I've barely written anything. Story ideas come and go. The only time I use Microsoft Word is for my homework. I'm not doing anything to fulfill one of my #1 goals for the future. What's up with that? Didn't I win the contest? Aren't I supposed to . . . I don't know . . . magically be on my way to success and happiness? WHY ISN'T ANYTHING HAPPENING?!

I think it was really today that I got it. Today that the rock of "duh" fell on my head. The day it hit me.

Before I continue, I need to confess something: I am a Lululemon addict. I love their clothes and even though I never buy anything from them (it hurts my wallet), I stalk their website and blog. Today I was Googling them, and stumbled upon this article.

I was shocked. Not so much that Lululemon said those kinds of things, but one of the notes that said,"You only have 30,000 days to live and then you are dead." I quickly did the math and figured out that already 1/6 of my life had flashed by. My clock was ticking.

After that I went on a bike ride with my friend, Serena, asking her to PLEASE stop and take a break at a park. (In other words, I'm not the strongest/fastest person in my class. "Sweatpants" is a foreign word to me.)

At the park we decided to go on the swings since we were insured to not get buckets of sand kicked into our shoes. At first we swung in silence, gaining momentum until we were sure we were flying: touching the clouds, soaring through the air. The huge hill we were on fueled our imaginations - the whole world spread out around us. I think it was because of the atmoshpere and the article I read regarding Lululemon only two hours before that I asked Serena, "What are your life goals, other then to get married and become an actress?"

And so she told me about how she wanted to travel to a third-world country to help the people there, swim with a killer whale, and meet a great white shark before they become extinct, among other things. All the while Serena was telling me this, I kept thinking, What are my life goals? How am I going to make the most of the rest of my life? It is because of that that I made my #1 goal: Find out my life goals, and my #2 goal: Start paving the way to becoming a published author.

Now, I've discovered that it's hard for me to do anything in life "that I don't have to do" (read: other then schoolwork and household chores) without motivation or inspiration. If I wasn't a morning person then I have no idea how my parents would drag me out of bed. At that note, even though I really do enjoy writing, I prefer planning everything out in the my head rather then taking the time to sit down and write.

It was today, not more then five minutes before I started writing this blog post that I got my inspiration.

Many of you might already know that Chelsea from The Page Flipper and Steph from Hey! Teenager of the Year have book deals. Yes, actual book deals. In the looming future THEIR BOOKS will be on STORE shelves for us to BUY and actually READ!! At first I was like, "Wait - what are we talking about?", then I was like, "Omigosh, they have book deals!!" and the I though, "Oh, shoot. I am jealous!". However, I think this is a good type of jealousy. The motivational/inspirational kind. The kind that lets you think,"Hey, they did it so why can't I?"

I don't know what kind of post this is. Maybe I'm just writing it all out so I won't forget it. Maybe because . . . it's the start of something new (everyone loves High School Musical!). Maybe I'm just writing because . . . I'm inspired. ;) Either way, I'd like to say a big thank-you to Chelsea and Steph for giving me that motivation, Lululemon for making great clothes and doing that weird thing with the bags, and my friend Serena for the conversation on the hill. Thanks, you guys - thanks.

-Iryna

P.S. Now it's my turn to ask - has the rock hit your head yet??