First entry for Alli Shapira

I have been thinking of starting a blog for awhile now, but procrastination and the excuse that “I don’t have the time” have held me back. I never succeeded in keeping a journal when I was younger – my thoughts always raced passed my pencil, which struggled to keep up. I had somewhat more luck with travel journals, especially when I traveled alone, but again it was only in certain situations and only when I was feeling particularly inspired. The idea that I can only write when melancholy or downright depressed is something I always though poetic yet limiting, so voilà – my attempt at writing a blog.

Of course, with this information in mind, you’ll find it predictable that my inspiration to start a blog comes from a current melancholy or from romantic notions, namely my recent uncertainty about my future, my job, and the purpose of my life. On a more positive note, I also have my new husband Yoav to thank for blogging inspiration. Ever since he started a blog a few months ago, I’ve been driving him crazy with my constant edits and critiques, but I’ve also enjoyed hearing him speak in a previously unheard way.

I realize the need to reconcile my above statement about writing conditions with my current job, which involves writing of all kinds – speeches, proposals, editorials, letters, etc. Because these are a different kind of writing genre for me (“professional” as opposed to “creative”), in my mind they are bound by different rules, which allow me to be an extremely proficient professional writer with only a cup of coffee, an early alarm clock and a closed door.

If I were able to develop my creative writing to a point where it no longer depended upon my mental state, it could make a valuable contribution to my professional writing, which would become more introspective and poetic.

What an excellent goal.