The Art of One Small Step

Hi Friends, 

In my home, cleaning and sorting through old stuff turns into a discovery of treasures thought long, long gone. For example, I recently discovered my first published piece of writing. It was never in any magazine or newspaper; oh no, this outlet has a very select demographic. I am talking about my family's Christmas letter, which I took over writing in 1999. Yes, just over a decade ago, I was attending Catholic middle school and begrudgingly telling people about it. I think, though, that you can see my journalistic side make an appearance. I will transcribe my magnum opus here for you in its original comic sans. Also, try visualizing it on candy cane paper.

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello!! How are you? Everything here is great. I hope that you all are having a nice holiday season. So far things this year have been pretty busy. I got out of the slammer [ school ] on Friday, and so far nothing much has happened.

I'm in the school choir, and I take piano and voice lessons. I hate practicing, but my parents tell me that I want to play the piano, I just don't know it yet. On Friday my school had the Christmas Mass, and it was about 2 hours long, one of the longest masses we've had this year. Then we had our Christmas party, and the girls were trying to get the boys to dance with them. And, no surprise here, the boys wouldn't dance with the girls but would show their cool dance moves only in their little groups. My mom says some things never change!

My mom is teaching at a really neat school and she likes it a lot. My dad still works too hard but says he likes it. It's been a great year and we'll see you soon.

LOVE, Anna Beth

 Note my cutting wit and reporting skills. Very Woodward and Bernstein, no? Yet, this is where my passion became more of a career path. Family loved my use of the word "slammer" (to be honest, so do I), and, with their encouragement, I began to think of writing as something that didn't just exist in my journal but rather as something you share. Who would think a Christmas letter could make a kid want to be a writer? Obviously not younger me. Who knows what small step can change your life, huh?

Hope you all have had a great weekend! My thoughts and prayers are with those reeling from Irene.