It’s been circa two weeks since I wrote about my mental health struggles.
I’m pretty open to talking about the things in my life, but I felt a bit vulnerable posting it anyway.
After I posted it I felt pretty good about it. I walked away and went about my day and later on I realized I was pretty proud of myself for writing it. For one I opened up, and for two I actually completed one whole writing project.
Until I opened it up today to reread it and realized that somehow half of the post (all the good parts!) were gone. I rewrote it the best I remembered I had it but I don’t think I captured the same feeling quite like I did the first time. There is something absolutely magical in the first draft of a piece that is like a blink of an eye. It’s lightning in a bottle, capture it while you can or it’s gone forever. I could have sworn that I saved it before I published but I guess not.
On a related note, I finally got all my myriad of physical writing notes confined into my one writing notebook. I’ll often get ideas while I’m out of the house and despite having a dedicated notebook to catch the ideas I have while in public I never carry it with me. So of course in my going out bag I had about a pound and a half of gas station receipts and restaurant napkins with every half baked idea I’ve had for the last four months.
I feel like I can liken the transference of notes from one paper medium to another paper medium to something similar to an autosave. I realize now how delicate both these thin sheets of paper and digital files can be if not staunchly and carefully recorded. I’m glad that for the time being I’ve secured my loose paper notes, and I hope this might remind you to take the time to ensure the safety of your files too.
Next week, I’m cataloguing all the loose notes I’ve text messaged myself.
The Cluttered Library 