My Dream for the Blog

I hope to one day be able to host a creative writing contest with a cash prize. :)

I'd also still like to make this into a book someday. This has made it seem like it might be easier & more possible than I'd expected.

Something that I think could be done sooner, though, is to have a weekly or monthly "contest" where people send in their own true stories, journal entries, & letters. Whichever one is the best will be put on the blog that week. It can begin as soon as people are interested & have something to share. Please email me at mcstarbuck@gmail.com if you'd like to do that. Thanks!

Another "contest" idea I just thought of is a "Note to Self" contest. The contestants would be assigned to write a letter to their younger self much like Brad Paisley:

 & Anita Renfroe:

Dear Anita,

I am writing this to you because this is some stuff you really need to know. But because I am you, I also know you didn't get this letter in time. But because all these psychologists think it's a good idea--which is another thing I need to tell you: just because people think something's a good idea, doesn't mean you have to try it. But like I say, you're not gonna get this in time, so you'll become the kind of person who does these things anyway. So, here we go:

Since I have seen your future, let me tell you that #1 someday your boombox will not seem like a great way to transport music. And, uh--Michael Jackson will someday be white. And by the way, you are totally gonna regret that spiral perm. It pretty much looks good on no one, & picture last a really long times--esp. the ones in which you resemble an ungroomed poodle. These will be used against you as a perpetual source of blackmail by your grown children. 

And also, that Bonne Bell lip gloss you love so much--stick with it until you're at least 35 because there will come a day when nothing will stay on your lips because your borders have disintegrated. You never appreciate those kind of things until they're gone.... 

And also, stop obsessing about your waistline--unless you're just looking at it trying to memorize it--because it will leave you. But in it's place you will have great memories of outstanding coconut-cream-pie slices. 

Your angst about what to study in college: forget about it! In your future line of work, turns out a college degree is not a requirement. Also don't worry about your future husband and children; it turns out that it's way better than you ever anticipated. That's the truth. 

But what I really need to you is this, young, 18-year-old me: Pay attention. There are so many great things happening & you're missing half of it wondering if you're pretty enough, capable enough, or good enough. Pay attention to all the people God is bringing into your life right now with so much wisdom & experience, & they wanna share it with you. Don't miss it. And, by the way, you need to pay extra-close attention to your Nana 'cause this time next year, she's not gonna be around, and you're gonna miss her. 

-Anita

I'd also like to have a birthday post each week. Anyone who celebrated a birthday that week can send a picture of the best birthday card they received that year (or any year), & I'll post it for all to see & help you celebrate! :)

Having sections of
 - "Letters to God" consisting of prayers. Pretty self-explanatory. My friends & I have lots of journal entries that would fall under this category, so we figured it would be good to devote a whole section to it. Plus, the movie made me want to write a lot more of them.
 - "Letters from Prison," which would include those written by prisoner & to prisoners.
 - "Love Letters" Keep it clean! :)
 - "Letters from War," which would consist of letters written to or from soldiers.
 - "Ghost Writers," which would be letters written by people who have passed away. You can submit them so that their legacy can be shared even though they aren't here to share it.
 - "Make Someone's Day," which would be a way to surprise & give a shout out to someone that means a lot to you. It's a way to publicly thank them. It could be a letter you haven't mailed to them yet or one you sent years ago but wanted to remind them of & show them that it's still true.
 - "Letters from the Homeland" I'd love to have one letter on here from each State
 - "Letters from Abroad" I'd also love to have a letter from every country, which I know is a lot less likely & quite close to impossible, but it's good to have dreams like that, too. :)

I'm open to any ideas, but for all of these sections, I'll make sure they are appropriate for the blog before I add them. I don't want to post something that would be too personal or make someone mad. I think that goes without saying, but I wanted to put it just in case. :)

Anyway, I'd like for it to be almost like a virtual Kindred Spirits mailbox type of thing. I got some of my inspiration for this blog from my visit to this mailbox.

This is me at the Kindred Spirit mailbox.
People walk to it along the coast
to write a letter in one of the notebooks inside.
It's now one of my favorite places on earth!
You get to read what everyone else wrote--
about what a great time they're having at the beach
with their boyfriend or girlfriend
or about a loved one that they miss, anything really.

Here's part of what I wrote in the journal on my first (& only) visit (so far).
I was really missing Grandma because of
what some of the other people wrote about their grandmothers.
P. S. Like the phone I drew? Haha, fail.

I'm already planning to have my sister & some friends post weekly letters or journal entries, but if you have any other ideas for the blog, I'm open to suggestions especially since I'm just getting it started.

My mom suggested that I design some stationery, so that's something that would be fun, too. I'd love to make a wax seal, too! I'm trying to think of what I'd want it to look like...some kind of signature sign. All I can come up with right now is JELTS, which means I created the blog backwards & it shoulda been Journal Entries, Letters, True Stories. Oh, well. I'm sure by the time I can actually make this dream happen, I'll have come up with something fun that I love.