My goal has always been to write at least one thing a day, no matter how long or deep or interesting. In college I was able to maintain this. Sometimes I wrote in the morning before going to class, sometimes I wrote after drinking a bit too much, and sometimes I stopped in the middle of a long day and just released my thoughts through writing.

The reason is simple: the more frequently I write, the more detail I’ll end up capturing. And the opposite is true: if my writing is sporadic then so much gets lost.

That’s what’s happening now. Since I last wrote anything, back on August 3rd, I’ve become much more intimate with someone, I’ve moved to Guatemala, worked for a day at my new school here, and met some amazing people from all over the world. But the details are getting lost now. The little things like kicking my sandals off and playing a little basketball on the courts at my new school fade away into one large overstatement like, “The school I’ll be teaching at for the next two years is more beautiful and breathtaking than I could’ve imagined.” I make blanket statements rather than focusing in on the details.

And I think we all do this. We want the BIG MOMENTS like traveling to a new country, but forget the little ones like hearing a song on the radio that reminds us of an old friend. The new romance in our lives gets far more attention than the drink of water we take after being a little dehydrated.

Yet the small details of our lives are so important, and if we don’t slow down to recognize them and APPRECIATE them, then they race on by just like the days and the weeks and the months.

So one reason I write is to remind myself to focus in on certain aspects of life which might otherwise elude me.  And I need to make a pact with myself that I will write each day and at least capture one moment, no matter how significant, no matter how unimportant.  The objective will be to simply FOCUS IN ON THE DETAILS AND THE NUANCES OF LIFE.

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