Accomplishment is the first thing I want to discuss in my A-to-Z challenge. For some, it doesn't take much to feel accomplished. Those people are probably generally happy-go-lucky people without seeing many problems in their life. Some require a lot to feel accomplished.
For me and my writing, it took a long time for me to feel accomplished. I remember first being married, alone, and without much in California. My husband was in the Navy at the time, so we were on a strict budget. One night, I remember asking if we could get a computer so that I could write. See, I grew up in Appalachia.
There are two distinct lives in my childhood. The first was with my father, who was from New Jersey. Although I was born in Appalachia, a few years of my childhood were spent living in Nashville, TN. My father was a teacher of Economics and Government. During that time, we had our first computer which was an Atari. I don't remember much about it beyond Donkey Kong. Even beyond that, we lived outside of Appalachia in the Valley. It is an entirely different life.
The second distinct life was with my mother inside the mountains of the Appalachia's. No computer. No phone until I was around fifteen. No cable. Even to this day, high speed internet and cable are not wired to where my mother lives. The life is simpler. Computers and technology are not as instilled in life. Summers were spent on the front porch or running around the yard.
Both of these distinct lives are melded within me. I appreciate the simplicity of life, but I spend more time on technology by choice and a sense of necessity. So when I timidly asked my husband if we could get a computer, I knew that life, for me, would change. Until that time, I spent most of my day cleaning, cooking, and watching television. It wasn't productive. We bought a computer, and all my plans went out the window.
I couldn't get my words out. I had all these plans. I wanted to write my novels. I had these stories inside me that wanted out, but I couldn't seem to get the thoughts into words. For years, I would start a piece and then throw it away. No matter what I did, I couldn't feel accomplished. That was 2003.
Flash forward to this moment in time. 2016. I am a published writer. I am a college graduate with a BA in English. In those early days, I would have never thought that any aspect of writing (including the beginning phases) could be seen as an accomplishment. Even the thoughts in my mind. Those small fragments could turn into a story that could be shared with someone, someday. Perhaps it took publishing my first book to feel accomplished. As an author (a year and four months later), I feel accomplished with far less than publishing a book.
For me and my writing, it took a long time for me to feel accomplished. I remember first being married, alone, and without much in California. My husband was in the Navy at the time, so we were on a strict budget. One night, I remember asking if we could get a computer so that I could write. See, I grew up in Appalachia.
There are two distinct lives in my childhood. The first was with my father, who was from New Jersey. Although I was born in Appalachia, a few years of my childhood were spent living in Nashville, TN. My father was a teacher of Economics and Government. During that time, we had our first computer which was an Atari. I don't remember much about it beyond Donkey Kong. Even beyond that, we lived outside of Appalachia in the Valley. It is an entirely different life.
The second distinct life was with my mother inside the mountains of the Appalachia's. No computer. No phone until I was around fifteen. No cable. Even to this day, high speed internet and cable are not wired to where my mother lives. The life is simpler. Computers and technology are not as instilled in life. Summers were spent on the front porch or running around the yard.
Both of these distinct lives are melded within me. I appreciate the simplicity of life, but I spend more time on technology by choice and a sense of necessity. So when I timidly asked my husband if we could get a computer, I knew that life, for me, would change. Until that time, I spent most of my day cleaning, cooking, and watching television. It wasn't productive. We bought a computer, and all my plans went out the window.
I couldn't get my words out. I had all these plans. I wanted to write my novels. I had these stories inside me that wanted out, but I couldn't seem to get the thoughts into words. For years, I would start a piece and then throw it away. No matter what I did, I couldn't feel accomplished. That was 2003.
Flash forward to this moment in time. 2016. I am a published writer. I am a college graduate with a BA in English. In those early days, I would have never thought that any aspect of writing (including the beginning phases) could be seen as an accomplishment. Even the thoughts in my mind. Those small fragments could turn into a story that could be shared with someone, someday. Perhaps it took publishing my first book to feel accomplished. As an author (a year and four months later), I feel accomplished with far less than publishing a book.
No comments:
Post a Comment