College - A New Chapter

Today began my first day of college--well, the first two classes. My next two don't start until Wednesday, but still, today was a first day. A new chapter in the manuscript of my life.

I was nervous. Very nervous.

This was something new for me. I'd never been to that campus--at least not enough to know where I was going--and knew no one there, which is a hazard of being a reclusive writer. Luckily enough, the people were friendly and were able to tell me where I was supposed to go.

I remained rather quiet in the first class--a trait that most of my teachers from kindergarten on up have liked as it meant that I was paying attention. This is from nervousness and not really knowing anyone. Once I get more relaxed, I tend to talk more. Of course, I also talk when I'm nervous so whether I was a bit more at ease in my surroundings by the time we were dismissed from our first class of the day or even more nervous to the point where being quiet just didn't do my nervousness justice anymore, I'll let you decide.

The benefit of my nervous talking was that I started talking to a girl from English class who's also in my Psychology class and discovered that she and I are a lot alike. We both like writing and both have the blessed curse of being easily able to come up with new story ideas which prompts us to neglect the many we have piled up waiting to be finished.

The first day is always nerve-wracking whether it's the first day of kindergarten or the first day of college. It just is. It's because this is something new for the person experiencing it, a milestone that they're accomplishing--something they've never done before.

It's so easy to look back and say, "I can't believe how nervous I was my first day." Because we've already done it. The first day's already over. But, when the first day is approaching, there's always that twinge of nervousness which remains until the first day passes and we laugh off our fears and worries about it.

Much like an author writing their first manuscript. They worry about how well the finished product is, if it's good enough to be published, how the topic will be received by readers, if they'll actually be able to write an entire novel based solely on the idea they have.

These worries lessen and go away with every word typed, every period, comma, and exclamation point. Soon, the author no longer worries about the ifs and hows, but focuses on the amount of fun they had doing it, the amount of enjoyment they got from writing a full novel based on what could have been just a tiny idea, one scene that stuck in their heads.

That is why authors write: the joy they get from doing what they love, no matter what anyone thinks.

And, just like the author writing their first novel, someone going through their first day is nervous for a little while, but gradually, as the minutes tick by and they make new friends, their nervousness is forgotten and becomes a distant, ever-fading memory.

The Rough Drafts of Life

"Rough drafts have a lot to do with, well, everything." ~Carly

A quote from my best friend lended itself to the blog name and she's right.

"Rough draft" is a term normally heard when referring to papers and novels, but it's so much more. I consider the recipes I try to be rough drafts that go through dozens of revisions before I get them right and works of art sometimes start out as sketches before they develop into their final forms.

Movies go through editing and scripts get revised before the final product is ever shown in theaters. How many times do you think any singer rehearses a song, changing minor details--pitch, tone, lyrics--before they are satisfied with it enough to release it to the public?

Life is full of rough drafts, almost everywhere you turn. Life's rough drafts are amazing, inspiring, unique, and eye-catching...everything a rough draft is supposed to be.