Every once in a while I find a series on dvd that I cannot stop watching. For me this is dangerous as I have way too much schoolwork to be indulging in zoning out. But I found one such series that I have been watching online. This has meant many a night with not enough sleep, as I keep hitting the little arrow at the bottom of the screen that whisks me into the next episode. Screen writers are geniuses, as they seem to know that I am waiting for the happy ending and if it doesn’t come in this episode, I am on to the next. But we do know, as well as the writers, that once there is a happy ending we stop watching. How many people watched Frazier through to the end of the series after Niles finally “caught” Daphne? As a 27 minute show turns into 4 hours of viewing and a philosophy text tucked safely inside my school bag, I wonder what it is that keeps me hoping for that moment when all will be right in the world. Do I tend to search for that moment, that magic time through the use of alcohol or chemicals or shopping, gambling, or eating? What is that feeling we are trying to reach? What can get us to that point without harming our delicate brains or bodies? Could it be the moment in meditation when I finally let go of thought and am able to follow a complete breath from nose to lungs to nose? Or is it the moment in prayer when I say, “Thy will not mine be done?” Is it the moment when the sun retreats behind the hill and the colors peek for a second? Is it just being present, which many of us are not? I don’t know, I do know that Karen just broke up with Hank, and I am waiting for the happy ending.
● About Me
I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends.
Laura Smith Writer 
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