I've always been a fan of words. Growing up, I kept a notebook of inspirational quotes. I copied them from magazines and books, added poems and scripture, made a table of contents....I was serious! This hobby took hours of my teenage boredom away and turned them into training for what would become my mid-life career. Funny how life works. Becoming an author was never in my game plan. I stumbled across the notebook yesterday and just had to take a moment and dive in. It was entertaining to say the least!
Most of my poetry was about young love or heartbreak, which seems to be a popular theme in teenage literature. I found poems written by my friend Jodi, and remembered how we shared a love for writing in junior high school. I found poems from old boyfriends, poems written to old boyfriends, poems about death, divorce, God, but mainly about adolescent love and all the drama that goes along with it. The rhymes were extremely basic overall, but I was surprised at the maturity in a few. I'll share a couple of gems, enjoy the laugh.
"Every minute of the day, in thoughts and things I do,
there's something that I hear or see that makes me think of you."
(mushy me - cue the 80s love song)
"I'm not gonna sit around and wait for the phone to ring.
To tell you the truth, I can spend my time on better things."
(Jodi - you go girl)
The quotes actually contained some wisdom that is still relevant. I'm not sure who the authors are, but I appreciate their wise words.
"The real measure of our wealth is how much we would be worth if we lost our money."
"If you're too busy to smile, then you're too busy."
"God sees us as we can be but loves us as we are."
"Real friends are those who, when you've made a fool of yourself, don't think you've done a permanent job."
"If you think the world is all wrong, remember that it contains people like you."
"The straight and narrow path wouldn't be so narrow if more people traveled it."
"The best thing to do behind a person's back is to pat it."
I love little notebooks. I use them daily to brainstorm for blogs or plots. I keep a small one in my purse to record the ideas that hit me on the run. There's another by the bed for middle of the night inspirations. I'm a pen and paper girl, so putting these thoughts into a phone is foreign to me. I bought one at the beginning of my author journey with a quote on the front. It encourages me to this day. It reads, "She believed she could, so she did." Lord knows I'm trying.
What words inspire you? Do you have a favorite coffee cup that motivates you every morning? Are you a "quote hoarder" like me? Share a couple of your favorites on bethroperstewart.com
A few of my most beloved are pictured below.