I consider myself a writer even though it seems I only write my inane thoughts here. But trust me, I have many more inane thoughts.

I recently realized I don’t hate my commute between home and Madison as much as I thought I did. It used to be that it was an hour ride where I’d watch the same scenery fly past. However, this past summer, I’ve used the time to perfect my writing and the commute grew on me. I have a longer story I’ve been working on in my head. I have blog posts and other miscellaneous writing projects. I’ll take that hour ride–one I’ve done so many times I don’t need to be awake for it–and I’ll focus on a writing project. Details get worked out and scenes written and rewritten. All in my head. Time is also spent thinking about things that I want to write for myself, but I never actually do. I’ve found use in what I used to hate.

But my problem is that when I get off my motorcycle, I don’t sit down and write out the new scenes or details or other bits of writing. I rely on my mind to remember them (I think I have a descent memory for most things). But it’s inevitable I’ll forget something important which in turn rewrites the entire scene or idea and gives it a whole meaning that I didn’t intend or want.

I’ve never consistently kept a journal–this makes me wonder how I’m a writer. I’ve never kept any source of writing for myself that didn’t last longer than a particular episode in my life. I’m sure in the next few weeks as I’m going through my life and sorting things, I’ll find my longest attempt at journaling and that was a three week internal struggle I had with a girl who I couldn’t move past ‘just friends’.

It could be argued that this blog is a form of personal writing that I’ve kept for three years but trust me when I say it isn’t. There is a great deal of information I keep out of this blog. I’m not a teenager who seeks attention/acceptance from my peers be complaining about everything wrong with my life. I only do that once in a while. I know a large sample of my friends read this and I try to write things that won’t offend anyone; so I’m not writing for me as much as I’m writing for you.

Now let’s factor in the Peace Corps. It’s going to be another episode in my life that I’ll want to document the best I can. I’m going to do it for me. I’m going to get a nice journal–leather with a leathery smell every time I open it–and I’m going to write in it every day. I hope that it will help me cope with the culture shock and it will help me sort out everything that happens. More importantly, it’s a twenty-seven month episode that I’ll be documenting and I’m hoping that period of time, writing every day, will be enough to get me in a habit of writing that will continue.

I’ll have a place to write down the thoughts of my commute. I’ll have a place to remember every thing that happens. And most importantly, I’ll have a place to write where I’m writing for me and not you.