Clearing out the old

I spent the day going through boxes and boxes of college papers, journals, email logs from the days of ISCA and BBS, dozens of photos, and every other item that I collected over the years. Most of the stuff I have stored in my closets is junk. I recycled and shredded old bank documents, tossed letters and cards from family and friends, and sorted through my stuff to put aside my ex's stuff.

And I came across my journals, my poetry and zines I wrote and published back in college. I am amazed how well versed in the English language I was back then. Now, I'm a bumbling illiterate who can't make a cohesive sentence without looking up words in a thesaurus. How did this happen? Maybe, one too many life experiences destroyed brain cells that were originally set aside for speech and literary writing. Or my daily drudgery at work and home dulled my senses and made me into a bitter, jaded drone.

Lately, my current motto "been there, done that, won't repeat it again" probably gives people the impression that I'm old and have circled the block one too many times and senility has set in. I suppose it's a good thing I'm clearing out the old, then. Ending this chapter in my life and starting a new one next year. For once, I'm optimistic.