This month marks the 18th anniversary of my move to Altanta (my "Atlantaversary," if you will). I started thinking, what would my 1994 self think about my current life?
She’d be thrilled that I’m happily married, and to another creative person. Probably would be disappointed at how much financial stuff is still a struggle, so that I don’t get to visit my family often or travel much. Surprised that I work at a yarn shop (I don’t think she even knew such a thing existed), but maybe delighted by that as well, because in some ways it does seem like a dream job for a knitter. Ditto making jewelry—she dabbled in that, but the thought that I could get paid for it would surprise and probably please her.
Would she be disappointed that I'm not making a living as a writer? She probably would think I should've published a couple of novels by now. And what about other kinds of writing? Back as far as college, I had this vague dream I used to talk about—“the ultimate magazine.” It would just be a mishmash of whatever seemed interesting at any given moment, which is kind of what my zine, Box of 64, ended up being (on an extremely small scale, obviously) in the mid-to-late 90s.
Hmmm, isn't that what I was just talking about yesterday--the idea of writing about anything and everything, for this blog? The concept of a blog would have blown my 1994 self's mind, because she barely knew what the internet was. (When I left Pennsylvania to move here, a guy I knew told me to keep in touch and handed me a piece of paper with his email address on it. I thought, "What a weirdo! Why would I ever need someone's 'email' address?" and threw it in the trash.)
When I think of it that way, I feel like I owe it to 1994 Stacy to work on my blog more. Because if she knew I had the ability to write things that (magically, it would seem) would literally be read all over the world, she would be appalled that I sometimes find it a chore or feel blocked, that I don’t take advantage of this opportunity more. She’d be shocked at how easy it is to feel so connected with people I've never met in person or haven't seen in years, all because of blogs and Facebook and such. She'd be shocked, but she would think it was VERY COOL. And it is. I don't want to forget that!
What about all the hand coloring C used to do? I miss that. I would almost love to see an electronic edition.
Posted by: Marco | Sunday, March 04, 2012 at 13:40
C--Thanks, babe. xo
Posted by: Stacy | Saturday, March 03, 2012 at 08:43
I was thinking about Box of 64 just the other day. i agree with B. 1994 S would think 2012 S is pretty cool.
Posted by: Christy | Friday, March 02, 2012 at 17:43
Awwww, thank you. Mwah!
Posted by: Stacy | Friday, March 02, 2012 at 11:22
I think 1994 Stacy would be really happy with 2012 Stacy. I mean, you guys got into the simplification movement before anyone else I know. And working at the yarn barn is super-cool, too. I'm really impressed with your lives but maybe that's a weird thing to say to someone...
Posted by: Bam Bammerson | Thursday, March 01, 2012 at 20:31