While I was making my Day Zero Project List, I stumbled into every bloggers dream. It’s a blogging project called 30 Days of Truth. I thought to myself, “Perfect! This is a great way to explore my sense of self!”. Below are the contents of this list. I fully intend on writing a post that explores each of these fully.
Day 01 : Something you hate about yourself.
Day 02 : Something you love about yourself.
Day 03 : Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 04 : Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 05 : Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 06 : Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 07 : Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 08 : Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.
Day 09 : Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10 : Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11 : Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12 : Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13 : A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days. (write a letter.)
Day 14 : A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15 : Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16 : Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17 : A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18 : Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19 : What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20 : Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21 : (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22 : Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23 : Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24 : Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25 : The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26 : Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27 : What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28 : What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29 : Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30 : A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself
As this project progresses, I will provide links to each post. I am eager to explore this massive undertaking of exploring each idea and possibility attached.
As the Pendulum Swings 
This is a great idea, and l look forward to reading your answers.
I did snoop around the Day Zero Project. I found something similar to your idea I wanted to write about….”50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind”. I started the 101 things list, but have halted that process; my head is already in a spin with everything I already have to do. It’s complicated! Stuff I don’t really have to do, but feel I have to do them, and won’t feel complete till they are done. I have so many unfinished things I’ve started. If the prerequisite to dying is to have all your check marks in place, I’m in serious trouble. I will have to live till the age of Methuselah with the strength of Hercules. But therein lies a problem with this thinking. Even if I get my check list of today done, I will have thought up more things to do before my last breath. Urgh!
In the meantime, I am enjoying your posts. You write sooo well! Currently, I am just really exploring the writing aspect of my creative self, something I’ve not done too much of in the past.
Cheerio!
Laurie Bee
That kind of thinking will do us in. Lol. I am similar in the respect that I need constant brain snacks. I overwhelm myself, so the 101 list was perfect. It takes care of almost everything I started, but never came back around on. And, it adds some less pressing brain snacks for flavor. Who wants pizza? Now who wants it every meal for a week? Yeah, it’s like that.
I’d like to blush a little and thank you for your kind compliment. And, I am currently in the process of tackling my brain with a hand over it’s mouth to stop the protest. *Smiles*
You, me, and Methuselah, book club buddies. I can see it now! I sometimes wonder if I do stop on this out-of-control hampster wheel, will I die from the inertia? Like a little pinball, I’d bounce around lifelessly until I plunk to the bottom. That’s how I envision it sometimes. Even when I start to lag, I can feel the tug.
It’s almost like a list the cartoons pull out that springs out of their hands and unfurls all over the screen. And, I’ll likely be able to sum my life on a post it. “She was born. She freaked out for x amount of years. And she died in a ridiculous accident.” Like an anvil from the sky. Do anvils even exist anymore?
HaHaHa! LoL! You’ve been reading my thoughts I think. I just did some artsy journalistic writing where I likened aspects of my life to the Road Runner and the Wiley Coyote. Anvil missing! Just blackened powdering explosive residue.
LOL. As it came tumbling out of my hands, I realized it was a Gilmore Girls reference. Completely unintentional. But, I recall Lorelai, her parents, and her daughter eagerly discussing the disappearence of the anvils at a Friday night dinner. I suppose we’re probably not the only ones to get to that big question. What happened to the anvils?
It’s different in kids shows today. I’ve seen Spongebob get hit with a flying ice cream truck. But, I guess they wouldn’t have any use for anvils in the sea!
Perhaps a passing ship’s anchor would replace the anvil in Spongebob’s world.
I forgot! It did! In my mother’s favorite episode called, “Shanghaied”, the episode starts with an anchor landing in Spongebob’s house! “Squidward! The sky had a baby in my cereal! Squidward!” The anchor shifts as Squidward is yelling at Spongebob (and now Patrick) and nearly takes him out.
Anchors. The new anvils.
🙂 LOL!! I love it!
I noticed that I’m not blogging on YOUR blog. That’s one thing I need to do more consistently. You understand how diffeficult the physical act of writing is for me. I set unrealistic gaols.
Anyway, I want join you on the quest. But there’s another reason. The project seems very ‘intellectual’, as opposed to ’emotional’. You know how emotional I get in my resposes. it willl be interesting to see if i can answer w/o getting all punny and poetic.
Objectivity! That’s the goal.
I know. I understand. You worry about you. And I know that you’ll come around when you can. I’m glad that you wanted to take on the project yourself! I can’t wait to read all about it!
Interesting idea. Perhaps I’ll take up the challenge as well. I have to think about it, though. I feel like I would probably be intermittent about my posts . . . but it would be good food for thought.
I’m pretty intermittent about my posts too, so I know this project is probably going to span over about three months. But that’s okay. I’d rather post in that fragmented fashion. I would probably get bored with a blog if it was an everyday thing. “Oh, I know what to look forward to today…” Borrr-rrring! I like the sporadic “Wait and see” approach. Besides, I can never tell what’s going to come out of my head from day to day. You should see how many half-written posts I have banked. I wonder if others are like that too?
“You should see how many half-written posts I have banked. I wonder if others are like that too?”
YES!
Well, um, maybe not my own posts, but my responses to others’ postings. Ya gotta start somewhere, even if it is on someone else’s coattails for now. Gee I don’t know if that sounds good or not. It never started out that way. I was just struggling or having a strange day and ended up Googling sparkly and bipolar. What pops up near to the top but Manic Muses. Then I stumbled on more. And here we are.
It was this group of bloggers that is slowly giving me the courage to fly so to speak with my fingers. Thanks everyone! I am looking at different writing styles, and am seeing what fits me and incorporating them, and developing hopefully my own brand. We’ll see on that as well.
Someone I know has also been encouraging me to start my own blog. I’m not ready to take the plunge yet. But, am planning on taking a writing course. In fact, I’m walking over to our local college tomorrow to sign up for ‘Writing for Publication 1’ tomorrow. We’ll see where that leads.
Come to think of it, is there proper blogging etiquette. Are there rules anywhere seen or otherwise? I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.
Thanks again Lulu and all of you…I am getting misty…. And flooded with ideas… So back to my quiche and squash souffle.
I have notes left to myself from other people’s coattails, so to speak. Just titles and a blurb in my banked drafts. So many subjects without form that I wanted to touch on. Kind of like what happens to liquid in zero grabity. It’s still the same substance with less cohesion (sp?) Until someone turns the gravity button on in my head. Yeah, I have to run around collecting the blobs that fell out of mid-air, but that’s the connect-the-dots part.
Most of my posts are narrative in nature. Beyond that, I don’t focus as much on form as I do function. Do I get the point across clearly while still illustrating it? Have I explored all relevant areas? Is it excessive or rambling? And most of all, does it manage to keep the reader’s attention? That’s all I worry about in terms of my audience.
Otherwise, it functions for me. Is this an accurate account? Does this provide the entertainment and therapeutic properties I aim for? Will I find this information interesting or useful later in my life? Essentially, this blog is an account of my life with bipolar disorder.
Sylvia Plath once wrote in her journals about how her journalling wasn’t necessarily the act of recording important thoughts and / or events. She wrote how journaling was her way of practicing her craft in a judgement free, free form environment. She emphasized the importance of the practice to keep sharp.
I encourage you to join us in the blogosphere! Honestly, my writing has seen incredible gains since I began blogging. The purposeful act of writing, not just the babble of journaling, has refined my focus. My attention to detail, careful word placement and phrasing in writing has actually refined my speech as well. It’s been a seriously gainful experience.
I would say to use the writing style that feels most natural to you. I mostly write a stream of consciousness . . . I’m actually still struggling with my blog voice a little bit. My favorite blogs cover their topics in a narrative way, so that’s what I want to do. The problem is that I run into the trap of then making my blog sound like any random journal. Is something too personal? Will anyone even care to read me talk about this very specific part of my life? Am I repeating myself all the time? These are the things I worry about when I blog.
I’d like to encourage you to start your own blog as well! When you’re ready, that is. 🙂
Oh goodness, those are thoughts that every blogger has. I frequently have to stop and remind myself, “This blog was originally created for you. No one else.” It is important to write for an audience, but at the same time, I have to remain true to myself. If it doesn’t feel right, then it’s not right. That’s not my writing. And that means, ultimately, it’s not me.
In certain topics, I don’t think there’s a such thing as too personal. I’ve gotten really personal about things, describing disturbing topics such as rape, abuse, suicide, etc. These are all things surrounding my disorder, in my opinion. When I write on a topic like that, I usually put up a disclaimer.
Repeating… oh the repeating! When I was obsessing over my surgery, I saw my stats take a dive. Yup, I’m repeating myself. Even I was kind of getting sick of it. But, what do you do when that’s the singular topic that everything else revolves around? I dip into a philosophical piece that borders on the topic. The meaning of life. The definition of humanity. What makes people tick. Things like that.
Do what feels right for you, is all I’m saying. Narratives feel right for me, because that’s how I remember things. I like to tell a story. Most of the topics that don’t require a narrative, like an opinion piece, end up turning into narratives because of the gratuitous use of circumstantial evidence. I’m no researcher. I’m just a writer.
Yes, I also have several beginnings of posts that have never gotten beyond that. I leave all of them in my drafts in case I ever get back to them. Also, sometimes I’ll have an idea for a post all day only to have it vanish when I sit down to write it. That’s irritating.
I’m still toying with taking up the project. I might use it for days when I want to write but can’t think of anything to talk about. I’d probably intersperse it with other posts about various things.
I have WordPress for Blackberry, so I am always jotting things into drafts. However, sometimes once the day has gone by, the idea loses some integrity. That’s the most frustrating for me, and those drafts remain. Sometimes, I make a comment to someone and it puts the spark back into it. Other times, it lays in wait.
I read a little ahead when I was having a problem writing Day 2, and saw Day 3. That draft started before Day 2 was even completed. Sometimes, I find myself coming to a stop when I feel like I’m compelled to make a graphic for it. I like to have a graphic for every post, preferably a homegrown graphic and nothing borrowed.
And sometimes, like today, I tap myself out.
Again, like I’ve said before, I don’t anticipate that I will be doing this project with any chronology. Other things come up, better ideas, block on a prompt, etc. I believe this will likely be something about three months long. Possibly longer. But, it’s a project, and I’m all about those. I would definitely encourage you to do it. It has really opened up my eyes about myself. In Day 3, Love the Way You Lie, I touched upon a subject that I had been hesitant to even open up. It was really therapeutic.
Yes, I see what you mean. My journaling has taken on a life form of its own of late.
I just went through this strange phase of strong visions that begged to be written in rhythms and rhymes, and other foreign (at least to me) uses of the English language. At the time, towards the end, I spoke of getting real tired of it, but now that it’s gone, I sort of miss it. It was an exquisite departure from my norm. It caused me to think through how I really think and feel about things. There still is a long way to go in that department.
I often, like a great deal of people, fly along on the crests of the waves, not bothering to really think and ponder what is really important. I have gotten all wound up in the tyranny of the urgent. It just comes down to connecting with other humans in a real way.
Thanks for your encouragement! 🙂
I’ve heard of Sylvia Plath, but don’t know much about her. I’ll Google her and see what shows up.
The tyranny of the urgent. That’s the most eloquent way to describe it. And we are all under the cruel, damanding thumb. And while we’re experiencing the tunnel vision of the goal, nothing outside of it seems to exist. At the very least, it’s moving at a speed that makes certain things indistinguishable.
I like to think. I rather enjoy letting my mind off of the perverbial leash from time to time. Then, much like a dog, I will either have to call it backan hoping it will come. It never does. Or, I’ll have to go on yet another chase. And I get to experience things I would have never run into otherwise.
Then, there’s quite a tale to tell!
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Reblogged this on The BiPolarized and commented:
Amazing! I wasn’t up for blogging about my personal life, but I am running out of ideas fast and this will be great for when more people care to know more about me.
I really like this, and the questions are really interesting. I’m going to try and give it a shot. Thank you for sharing this, and good luck on your 30 days of truth! 🙂
I didn’t make it, but feel free to take it on!
Mine is stalled at Day 13 at the moment. Other topics have taken precedence. I will return to it soon, I’m sure.
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Reblogged this on Life and Other Misadventures and commented:
So, I have been pondering the future of this blog. For the past few weeks, while it’s been fun to share all of my excitement over being in love with such an incredible man (sorry, I’m just all tingly with excitement), I also realize that this blog isn’t meant to be about him. It is meant to be about me. His story is his story, and it is for him to tell. Although my life is affected by what he goes through, I also need to get back to myself. So I think I will attempt this project as a way of doing that.
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