5min/365days

Mrs. Silan, my 12th (11th?) grade english teacher, required us all to keep a journal and write in it every day. It didn’t matter what you wrote about, the assignment was to write non-stop for 5 minutes. Most of the stuff I wrote about was typical at that age: boys, parties, parents. I kept every one of the composition notebooks I filled since then, even though none of the writing is any good and only makes me cringe with embarrassment for my teenage self.

If the goal of the assignment was to get us into the habit of writing often, then it was a success because I have been writing since (though not as often as every day). Paper journals turned into online journals which opened a door to opportunities to write regularly for a number of Guam magazines. I honestly don’t think I’m a great writer, in fact, I don’t even think of myself as a “real” writer. All I know to do is to write about things I’m actually experiencing…I’m no good at making stuff up.

I realized the other day that the reason I’m not very good is because I don’t practice enough. Can I get a duh? I’ve decided to get back into the basic practice of writing every day for 5 minutes non-stop. 5min/365days is my newest resolution and the one I’m most excited about. It’s hard to feel any excitement about my other resolution to each more vegetables.

Happy New Year, friends. What are you going to do in 2012?