Journal #4

“Free Writing”

For some people, free writing is more difficult than having a topic assigned. For this reason, I suggest keeping a list of ideas for a rainy day somewhere in your Writer’s Notebooks.

Keep in mind that any topic is fair game as long as you do your best to write about it reflectively. I’ll discuss the whole business of reflective writing below.

Describing an experience or writing factually about a topic is what I refer to as “surface level” writing. You can be interesting, accurate, funny and informative, but ultimately you are leaving some of your subject unexplored.

Reflective writing attempts to go beyond the obvious aspects of a topic. It is a way of looking at your subject from different angles and exploring alternate points of view. Good journal writing is a balance of “surface level” and reflective writing.

I've never been the smartest or the coolest kid, but the loner among all others. I have had many friends who came and went, but do they really remember me at all? Probably not. I mean, of course, I can remember people who I haven't seen since I was just a kid, but it seems that nobody can remember me. It's another one of those common traits about me, 'easily forgettable' because I just haven't been around anybody long enough for them to be aware of my own existence. Kind of sad, really, living some sort of empty life.
I have this one childhood memory, which some people may have experienced, but in a different situation. I was eight-years-old and I got lost..... in the woods. Yes, it was the St.John's hiking grounds and I got lost because I was a loser at the time, seriously, I hated life when I was eight. After roaming around for about six hours alone on the trails, I noticed that as it got colder, I became more afraid, more afraid of staying alone for the rest of my life. Just the thoughts that I was thinking that I would have nobody to be with as I got hungry, thirsty and needed to take a leak. Taking a leak was an easy thing, just piss somewhere along the path and there, the tank is empty. Getting food was another thing, unless if you wanted to be like Yogi Bear and steal some picnic baskets, only to get yelled at by the person whose basket you attempted to steal, stupid bear... go eat some bear food. That experience has left a certain little thought drift through my mind and that is "Wherever you are, you are always alone." That statement has never been false to me because nobody can get to know the real me, even if I've known them for years.