To Do: Write an Essay

I'm really good at making lists. I don't know what it is about list making that attracts me, particularly. I may come by it naturally-- I've always known my dad to write out lists of things that need to get done. His mother had lists scattered around the house about her daily medicine intake, grocery lists (which always included plastic Ziplock bags and some variety of bran cereal), and a number of other things that stopped making sense a day or two after the list had been made. Her father started listing his bowel movements toward the end of his life. Now I'm not saying I list my bowel movements, nor will I ever do, but it does begin to explain the tendancy to list.

It's a handy tool, keeping a list, especially if it's a running list. Sure it can be kind of daunting to continue to add items to a list, but at least you have the visual satisfaction of knowing what you've accomplished when you can cross an item off. Sometimes I revel in the moment when I can throw away a completed list, when Taps or The Final Countdown plays in my mind as I crumple up that bright green Post-It and toss it into the trash. It's a small but valid victory and should be honored as such.

I do love Post-It Notes. They're extremely convenient for making lists. I like to keep a Post-It stuck on the inside of my school binder with three little lists written on it: Pressing, To Do, and Else. Obviously, the Pressing matters are dealt with as quickly as possible, followed by those things on To Do, and sometimes items on Else get pushed back another week, but it's okay. Eventually Else becomes Pressing, so it all gets done in time.

The thing about Post-Its, however, is that once you throw them away, that's it. They're gone, never to remind you again, because even though everything on the Post-It is crossed off, at least it's still a reminder like, "Wow, look at all the things I've done this week." That's where the Day Planner comes in handy. When you open my Day Planner, it has a weekly calandar on one side and a lined page for notes on the other. Of course this allows ample room for listing, and this way I've got a permanent record of all the things I've accomplished. Don't worry-- it's not like I go back and reminisce. Can't you just see me curling up in front of the fireplace on a rainy day with a mug of hot chocolate? I crack open my Day Planner, skim the pages and laugh fondly. "Deutsch Arbeitbuch, check. Buy milk, done. Lunch with Jennifer, oh what fun we had! Ha ha ha!" I'm so sure. But at least I know I'm not a total schlub. And think of the soundtrack that will play at the end of the year when I can toss out that list, that freaking HUGE list! Why, is that a Wagner sympthony I hear?!!

Types of Lists I Make
Homework lists
Errands lists
Grocery lists
Lists of topics to cover in a letter to missionaries
Lists of music I want to find
Lists of movies so I know which dvds are missing
Lists of books to read
Birthday wish lists
Christmas wish lists
Lists of important dates
Weekly appointment lists
Lists of classes I still need to take
Lists of essays I'd like to write someday
Lists of blogs I read every few days
Lists of places I've worked and for how long
Lists of shows I've been in and what roles I played
Pictoral lists of pictures I need to print out
Lists on my Facebook profile
Lists of my fictional boyfriends
Lists of addresses and phone numbers
Lists of TV shows I still need to watch
Lists of the types of lists I make

I'm currently studying creative non-fiction, specifically the art of crafting The Essay, and I've found my list making slipping into overdrive. I have lists of topics I'd like to essay about and I most of my writing seems to include some form of listing, however subtle, within the context of the pieces themselves. Rather than try to flesh out an item from a list, or even the entire list itself, into a well-written essay, I've decided to compose an essay entirely made of lists. Titles may or may not be included.

Well, either that, or write an essay about the process of making lists. Then I can cross it off and there's one less To Do item.