![]() It is here. The holidays are upon us and I am grateful once more for the people in my life. This Thanksgiving there's no travel plan and there's no spending time with friends and family. I will be cooking one of my favorite sides (spicy greens) and celebrating Harvetfest in Sims land probably a few times. One thing I've come to appreciate and know to be true is that being by yourself is something we take for granted and it doesn't last forever. When I was younger I used to be afraid that a holiday alone meant that I was alone but I know that not to be true. This year it's a choice. I'd rather be home than stressing me or my finances out by trying to travel anywhere this year. I want to have several seats. However, I know that this is also the time where seasonal depression likes to snake its way into existence. One way I've learned to combat that is have constant communication with loved ones and make sure I'm not isolating myself too much even if that means long phone calls or video chats but something that lets you spend time with people even if you're not physically with them. This is helpful for me especially since my friends and family are all over the world and I can't always visit everyone. My God mom also gave me this tip several years ago and I carry it with me now. A lot of us have had loved one pass away and this time of year can bring the blues of I miss you. Whether it's your parent, close friend, friend of a friend, family friend, child, pet, or anyone who touched your life in any significant way that has died we can still remember and honor them. I'm not saying the blues won't still come but doing something that you did with them or something specifically to commemorate their memory is helpful. For me this looks like getting Chinese food, snacks, and watching a movie that my mom would've liked. And if Chinese food is not available I cook or buy a meal my mom would've enjoyed. It's been nice to do since my God mom mentioned it and has helped me not be stuck in a loop of seasonal depression. Another way I kick seasonal depressions butt is by going somewhere sunny orrrr you can check out these sun lamps at the library to combat the grey of the world. The older I get the more I can't stand the grey of winter. I want winter but with sunshine and brightness. Which is why winter without snow is always super depressing. It makes things dark and dirty. I am looking forward to a time where I am constantly spending the holidays how I want to but I am grateful that even when I can't I am showing up for myself. I hope you enjoy this holiday season. Love & Peace ![]() Photo by Mr Cup / Fabien Barral on Unsplash Sometimes you meet a new person and don't necessarily know the impact they will make on you. Recently, I discovered a new friend has an archive of their poetry. It was impressive. They also built the site themselves from Java and continue to add to it which is another amazing feat in itself. Color me impressed. As an information professional and artist, it has never occurred to me that my collection of memories, poetry books, letters, and sometimes objects is archiving. In fact, I'm sure many of us have collected things like coins, rocks/stones, or maybe even family heirlooms. Now you may be asking, "What is an archive?" I got your back babe. According to Oxford, an archive is a collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people. And according to the National Archives, a personal archive is "a collection of material that records important events from your family’s history." I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that as a librarian this hadn't ever occurred to me. Yet here we are. As a poet archiving your work digitally could also create a copyright for that work. So guess who's archiving some very youthful poetry and going to be working on personal archiving once this novel is done? That's right, me. Thanks, friend. Copyright say what? Most poets who solely perform don't even think about copyrighting their work until they're sitting in the audience or a friend hits them up with a "this poem sounds oddly familiar" then there's beef and hurt feelings. Claims of stolen get tossed around and ownership becomes wonky as time goes on. Especially when credit isn't given to the original creator. Where's the proof? Well, guess what darling, if you copyright your work then when you do hear that poet swipe your work you can shout, "Swiper no swiping!" or, you know, sue them if you feel so moved. It only really comes in handy when that poem becomes food taken from your table. Poetry is funny anyway because concepts can be similar and words can have a familiar cadence but a copyright lasts for your life and an additional 70 years. "Depending on the country of its origin, most creative work is protected by common law and copyright is assumed by its original creator the moment it is created. When you publicly share work, you are publishing it, making it available to an audience, and the date you share it would become your proof of copyright." -Jay Sizemore So how am I personally archiving my work? Happy you asked. I use this website in many ways as a personal archive of sorts. It keeps all of my artistic and professional thoughts, ideas, and history so other professionals and artists or anyone really can see what I've been up to. This blog is a bit more intimate than some of my more formal ideas because I want to share what is happening in my week to bi-weekly or whenever this goes up life. Allllll of that said, my old works will eventually find a home here. One day I'll separate my worlds bus for now here we are. I have poetry that goes back all the way to my very first poem which I will share here. Funnily enough, I started an archival project of other materials and my first poem was one of the documents I ended up scanning for that project. In 2001 I wrote my very first poem and that was the catalyst for me becoming a poet. It ended up in a poetry magazine that I didn't even think to keep but luckily my family held on to my very first scrapbook/photo album that I created back then and it has finally made its way back to me. This is why personal archiving can be useful. We don't lose these memories. We don't lose these moments. And as a poet, we don't lose our work no matter how young we were when we created it. The best part about personal archiving is that you get to revisit these memories. No matter how hard they may be. I can't wait to share all of my older work with you all. Though some of it is cringy, preachy, erotic, and sad there are happy poems and joyful moments as well. There's also a lot of looooooove from when I let my hopeless romantic side come out and play. I hope this inspires you to create a personal archive of your own and I hope it brings you joy. Also, I threw in some of the links I got quotes and tings just because the librarian in me couldn't help it ;) Much love! Laters! References |
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