Picking through the past...

For some reason, even though I desperately want to, I cannot get rid of my old writing.

Old, BAD, writing! Old, bad writing that I thought was fantastic when I was 12, and 16, and 18. sigh. Oh boy, was I delusional.

The thing is, someone long ago told me never to get rid of anything I write.

So here I am, some 20+ years later, with stacks of writing I'm pretty much embarrassed by. Piles of junk that make me laugh out loud and cringe at the absurdity and childishness of what I wrote. ugh!

The good thing about that bad writing, is that it allows me to see how far I've come and how my writing has progressed. I don't write in circles as I used to. My lines and words are much cleaner - more precise - more thought out and controlled. Without the ridiculous, juvenile writing to look back on, perhaps I would never know how far I've come.

And really, isn't life about growing, rather than being stagnant?

Prompt# 23 - Do you have old writing you've saved, but you're almost ashamed to pull it out and read it again? Do it anyway, find an old piece of junk and shine it up! One thing I've found is this: sometimes, in those piles of rubbish, there is a gem to be found - just a line or a few words that can be refashioned - like piecing a quilt together from old scraps. Why not write a "quilt" today...