Day 9

Fish Lake County Park
Harris, MN

Today I pondered the true purpose of my blog. If you are one of the people that have been regularly following me, you may have noticed a different theme to yesterday's post. I spent my time writing a description of Frandsen Park. Maybe it was because I had never hiked there and all the other places I have, who knows? Usually as I sit down to write I have a topic in mind by that time already. I do not stress about it, as it has always come to me before or during my hike. So far I have covered reasons for the blog, my birthday, crocs, town, the shindig, having a bad day, and DFCP. None of these topics were planned, they were just what was going on in my life in that moment, or what was occupying my thoughts.

To reiterate, the reasons I listed before that I am doing a hiking challenge and writing about it were: I love to explore, I love MN, I love to write, I want to ground myself during my job search, and I would like to get in shape. So I combined those things, created a challenge and started the blog. But if I am perfectly honest, the writing has occupied my thoughts much longer than the actual hike. What does that mean? Well, if I am completely honest, I wanted a reason to start writing. This blog is not truly about the hike. It is not truly about the great places to go to to hike in the area. It's not about how challenging it is to spend over two hours a day hiking and writing. Ok, it kind of is on the surface. But below the surface is what really matters. And what lies there is a girl that grew up always wanting to be a writer.

I clearly remember sitting at my mother's computer, typing up Disney stories word for word. For a short time I was pen pals with one of my favorite authors. I used to dream about working for Frommers and exploring the world while getting paid to write. I used to imagine writing a series as great as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. I took what was supposed to be a three page writing assignment and wrote 16 pages without blinking and decided I should stop or the teacher might get mad. And the list goes on. And on. And on.

Somewhere along the way, most of us give up on our dreams. Maybe we simply forget what those dreams are as we drudge along trying to be an adult. Well, after getting my latest rejection from Staples and feeling completed defeated, I decided to make a change and go after something with all my energy and all my heart. So I started this blog. Yes, it conveniently blends all of my favorite things together and is challenging me to get in shape. But, at the end of the day, I am proud of myself for writing. The best part of my day is when I cozy up to my computer, put my geeky glasses on, take a sip of water, and start to type. It doesn't matter how good the writing is, all that matters is that I am here and I am writing. And maybe along the way I will inspire someone to start writing or to take a hike at their local County Park.

I can't tell you what I will write about because even I don't know. What I can tell you is that I will hike 3.3 miles every day and I will sit at this computer and write about it. I am hoping to improve upon both my average walking speed and the quality of my writing. So far, I haven't pushed myself on either. I basically walk at whatever speed is comfortable and I write what I think without editing. Both require constant muscle movement to improve upon, which is why this is a daily blog, not a once a month or whenever I feel like it blog ;)

Well, I hope you enjoyed the post today. Give me some love on Facebook and let me know what you think so far! If anyone wants to join me for a hike let me know!

Gratefully,
Jamie Lynn 

P.S. Fish Lake Park is awesome and most of you already know that. There is a hiking trail across the road that doubles as a cross country ski trail in the winter. It is magnificent.