What is File 412?

No... it's not an error message on the website.

As a writer, the best advice I was given was to never stop writing. Write whatever you want but just don’t stop is the mantra. Since I was 15, I’ve dreamt of being a professional writer. Sure, over the years I’ve written thousands of pieces, but always for someone else. I’d write about industries and workforce development. I’d write about statistics or events. Sure, it paid the bills, but it certainly wasn’t my passion. I couldn’t choose the projects and topics I wrote about. 

Several years ago, I started a journal/planner project where I promised myself, I’d write every day. Each entry was numbered so that I could easily tell how many days I’d been at this new activity. Even if I only had time for a few words, I wrote daily. I’d write about things happening in my life or in the world, things that made me mad, or the stupid actions of my kids… mundane stuff, actually. But I struggled with purpose. What was I writing for? Did my writing really provide any direction in my life? Why was I doing this? Then… entry 412 happened. 

Entry 412, or my daily files as I referred to them, was different. It was as if the words weren’t coming from me. File 412 was an adrenaline shot, a blast of scalding air to the face, a pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps type of revelation. File 412 quit examining the world outside and instead focused on what can happen today to make life better. File 412 was the day I quit waiting for my dream to happen and instead, started making my dream happen. File 412 was the day I decided to be the kind of professional writer I always wanted to be. So here we are… my online portfolio, my writing resume, my showcase… my words in the way I have always wanted to see them. My voice, my passion, my heart.