Write what you know, eh? Write what you're thinking about? That's what these things are supposed to be for, right? Getting it out there, good or not (lately in my case, not). So why aren�t we doing it?

I am a professional writing major at a tiny little spec of a university in north Alabama. I have this journal, I'm on staff at the school paper, I have two term papers currently in various stages of development and I have committed myself to various other so-called writing projects as well. Oh, I owe at least two people personal letters. And yet I don�t seem to write. Ever.

The regulars have probably noticed it. My last entry was March 16. Granted, I took a week off for Spring Break (I think), but still...that's just shy of a month. And I haven't even felt a burning desire to write. Last semester, I would always sit in class and think of things to churn out for the site � thus the fangorious pile of entries from last fall. It would also seem that I'm a lot more prone to writing when I'm upset, and I did a lot of being upset last semester.

One corollary I've noticed in the relatively short time I've been doing this is that whole happiness thing, in a more boyfriendly sort of way. More specifically, the periods during which I have had a boyfriend have left me sufficiently fulfilled (as well as busy dating him) as to not require too many updates to the site. The periods during which I have been single have been significantly more productive. Theoretically, this would indicate that a boyfriend (or any kind of social life, really) is a detriment to my productivity. However, as I previously mentioned, this is leaving me all kinds of fulfilled, so I'm okay with the slacking in the writing department.

Granted, I've had a lot more of a social life this semester, which totally accounts for some of the dropoff in regularity. Also of note is the fact that I finally got a computer in my dorm room this semester. One would think that this, giving me more opportunities to sit down and type things, would increase my output, but certain distractions like, oh, the Internet have hampered my progress even further. Damn you, TextTwist! Stupid Internet, being all addictive. Sigh.

I went through a spell of reading biographies over the holiday break. Since then, I've been reading a lot of magazines, which often include profiles of immensely successful people. And I saw that Martha Stewart movie again, which really got me upset. It seems to me that most highly successful people are driven and productive at an early age, accomplishing astounding feats of this and that before they even reach legal drinking age. I turn nineteen this June and I don't feel like I've accomplished all that much. I feel like I've done a few things, but there's a lot more still be done. And even if I were writing more, would it be worth reading? There have been recent comments regarding the sappiness and unnecessary brand loyalty these entries have been exhibiting lately, which make me think that maybe I've journalled out. After three years. Suck.

And not even really three years. Sort of three years. Not like Bunting and her six fantastic years. Come to think of it, she's always stressing the importance of regular and consistent updating. There's a new TN each Monday; we know this is coming and Sarah knows we expect it, so she rewards our Pavlovian whatever with her delightful prose. Regular and consistent updating accomplishes just what Sarah says it does: if people know when to expect new stuff, they'll keep coming back. Otherwise, you lose them forever. I feel like I'm losing readers forever (not that I should care � maybe?) and there�s nothing I can do about it.

My only solace is the fact that others are slacking as well. This decline in updatedness is an across-the-board thing, a sort of universal constant. This time of year is hellabusy and I've experienced similar lulls in previous years. All my fellow journallers seem to have disappeared as well, falling off the face of the online journaling earth.

What's to be done? I'm not sure. I've been thinking for awhile about going back to regular old once-a-week updating, given my increasingly demanding schedule. Perhaps the regularity will help me to find the talent I've somehow misplaced. I think I'm going back to Tuesdays for old times sake. All this is by way of saying, "Look for new It Hurts columns each Tuesday." I'm not dead yet, nor is the printer out of ink.

Someone got here by searching for: what should a graduation invitation say? Reading: I checked out a book from the library, but I don't think it's going to get read. Listening to: Roy Mercer. Watching: Steel Magnolias, the stage version, which was muy excellente. Eating: Some kind of omelet.