write

Childhood Dreams Come True

Advertising, Everyday

When I was younger, I had a dream of writing greeting cards for a living. Although that dream has since faded, it doesn’t make having a greeting card I wrote actually published any less awesome. That’s right. I wrote a greeting card and it’s getting published!

A year ago my friend and work partner, Alan, and I entered a contest on Threadless, a crowd-sourced t-shirt design website, to make a greeting card. Our birthday card design was selected to be part of their collection and will be exclusively sold at Target starting June 16th. Yes, that Target.

This is what it looks like:

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Some of you might cry, “Heretic! Haley doesn’t drink! Why is this card about drinking?” And that is true, I do not partake in the drinking of alcoholic beverages and am a complete teetotaler. I wrote this card on a whim and never thought it would actually make its way into the aisles of a store – or the hands of a person. That being said, I’m not against alcohol. I just don’t support drinking in excess. Alcoholism runs in my family and after 3 years of being an RA I know far too well the negative side of drinking. That being said, moderation people. Moderation.

So if you’re too lazy to make your own card and wanna get your bud one that is clever and quick to the point, hop over to Target and buy one of mine. Or buy fifty. Because I get to split 20% of the profits with Alan and we wanna roll around in wads of greeting card cash.

Sick Day Philosophy

Everyday

I took a sick day yesterday. My second sick day ever. Impressive right? And what does Haley do when she is sick? Apparently write philosophical notes on her iPhone while half-conscious. Which I present to you now:

It’s amazing to me how much power one little word can have. Like, “yes.” Or “no.” Or “stop.” Or “go.” Just one word can carry with it the power of two thousand words – all by itself. Like “land!” And “duck!” And “why?” And “don’t.” One little word can command armies or stop machines. It can warn of harm or demand an explanation. It can say “please” and “thanks” and “certainly” and “sure.” It can make you feel “better” or make you feel “worse.” 

Words don’t exist. Not really. They are creations of our own making. Just sounds and shapes of sounds all mashed together and attached to something to give it meaning. And yet, without them we would have no meaning at all. I would not be “me” and you would not be “you.” That table wouldn’t be “table”, it would be just another object in a corner of the room. 

Words declare things. Call things into being. Words have more power than we can possibly have. They aren’t mere tools. Words are beings of their own. Living, breathing entities. Words are alive. 

A Year In Doodles

Doodles, Everyday

As I mentioned in my last post, 2013 was the first year I ever made any New Year’s resolutions. After having sworn against doing “silly resolutions” for most of my life, a friend of mine encouraged me to do some, just because. This simple challenge became a yearlong project I like to call The Daily Doodle. For 365 days I drew a doodle a day. Subjects varied from what I did that day to random things in my head, and ranged from goofy to obscure. I posted these doodles on a Tumblr and shared through social media.

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Little did I know how big my little project would become. Over the course of the year I received hundreds of likes and reposts on Tumblr, 83 Tumblr followers, a Tumblr “Featured Artist” tag, hundreds of likes on Instagram, comments galore on Facebook, and multiple favorites on Twitter. I even got requests from friends and family for custom doodles. But, most importantly, people told me that they looked forward to my doodles every day. Suddenly, something I had never expected happened: my personal project became a social community – purely because people were able to interact and engage with my doodle process.

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So, what did I take away from this year? I’ve learned that people like to be involved. They like to engage, interact, approve, “like,” critique, and share. I’ve learned that people like watching other people achieve something. By acting as an audience, they feel a part of it. I learned that 365 unique doodles are hard to come up with, no matter how creative you think you are. And I’ve learned that I like challenging my creativity every day, even if it’s a little thing like a doodle.

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With the year ending and a new one beginning, some people have asked what will happen to my daily doodles. Do I keep going? Do I extend the project? Although my compulsive doodling will never end, I’ve decided to end this project as planned. But that means it’s time to start a new one. On January 4th, I will begin my new adventure: a 365-sentence story. Follow along.

My Book Collection

Everyday, Poetry

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To read is to open up your mind,

You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find.

A book is more than words and glue,

It’s takes a hold and sticks on you.

And if you take the time to dwell,

Your book will come to know you well.

So grab a novel, play, or poem,

And let the story take you home.