Book 1, "Were It Begins"

So, the beginning of this book was a bunch of very unorganized video game ideas from two young kids, who thought that video games could be better, and wanted to make their own. My old friend Alan and I ground out a lot  of details and even made some maps. Needless to say that didn't get anywhere, but it's about half of the first book. I'm going to skip that for now, but if someone is dying to see the first half of the book I might upload it later.

Here, I present to you the page that I believe marks the beginning of this log (partly because in the first paragraph I said "this is were it begins").

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Wording practice!

Words are amazing. I am going to attempt to keep these words that I write nice neat and good... this is were it begins...

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii

Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr

Ss Tt Ii /the 'i's are crossed out/ Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

At my house.              B        q        R

                                  b

Am I Loud and clear       g     r     v

Lets unwright these pages and replace them with our own Words

Swing Life Away

Crafting letters and Forming words

Forming Words and spawning sentences

Spawning sentences and Making/Conjuring paragraphs

Conjuring paragraps and completing papers

Completing papers and leaving an impact

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Holy cow, I was awful at grammar and spelling back then. Past Justin, you disappoint me. Were? Really? I didn't realize how embarrassing this could be.

Anyway, I still remember the night where I made this page. I was listening to "Swing Life Away" by Rise Against and the line "Lets unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words" made me want to do just that. Later on, while in college, I found someone who explained the mindset that this line put me in, much better. That someone was Sherwood Anderson, and I feel that this Rise Against quote can be translated, at least roughly, with this quote:

"You must try to forget all you have learned," said the old man. "You must begin to dream. From this time on you must shut your ears to the roaring of the voices." Wing Biddlebaum to George Willard from "Hands"


Basically, what I glean from these two quotes is something simple and most definitely cliché. Be wholly yourself. It's been said countless times, but I think these are two instances where I was truly touched by the message.

In addition to the "be yourself message" that I feel like this page portrays, I also think it shows a point in my life where I started to really realize the importance of words. I don't think the poem at the bottom of the page is particularly good, but it, mixed with my effort to improve my handwriting, I think does convey a sense of appreciation for the written word. I'm glad. Without this step in my life I don't know where I would be, and I am very pleased with where I am in my life. Without this step I'm sure I wouldn't be here digitizing my old journals and reflecting on the past.