This is the first post of my new blog – primarily following the process of writing my thesis – On Letting Go, a collection of poetry and creative nonfiction.

I am in the middle of week 2, I have 9 weeks left.  I will walk in Commencement on May 15, just a few weeks away, but will not complete my thesis until June.  Needless to say, this makes me nervous.  For most of my life I have dreamed of becoming a writer.  I have felt that my voice is important; that I have something to say, that maybe a story I make up or an experience I have can help someone else figure something out about themselves.  I don’t know, I’ve just always had the desire to express myself.  Even when I was a very shy kindergartener, when I didn’t speak in class the first half of the year, I am certain I had things I wanted to say – I just didn’t know how.  I was afraid.

Well guess what, life happened and now my voice is developing into a bullhorn.  Maybe that’s not the best analogy…  The point is, my voice is important.  What I have to say is important.  Since screaming doesn’t allow anyone to hear a message, hopefully the written word will make it easier.  Perhaps someone will read the words and say “Hey, that makes sense.”

We’ll see where the thesis wants to go.  I have several poems ready to sort into three sections – I haven’t titled them yet, but for the most part, they’ll be focused aroudn the process of letting go of something – a memory, a person, an idea, a comfort; and moving towards acceptance of the possibility of uncertainty of the future – but remembering that it’s just a THING we let go of – that actually, we carry all of that “stuff” within us to help us survive the future.

Something like that.

I won’t be publishing all the pieces on the blog, as that is considered “Published” to many literary magazines – so if a piece is published elsewhere, I will post it here with publishing credits.

Onward!!!