The Making of..."Baggage Claim"

Hi.

I'd say for the last 4 years, when I would write about love, whether that be in stories, poems or songs, they would become a bit more realistic, a bit more of a 'strings attached' mentality. That's a vast difference than the material I'd write back in high school. It's truly remarkable how our opinions can change. Only they don't truly change. I'd say they evolve based on our experiences. We can still be hopeless romantics while at the same time be annoyed at that idea. And that goes for professional decisions, other passions, etc.

For me, I've always tried to avoid the pitfalls of just writing about the dark and negative sides of love. That's a jaded point of view that I try to steer clear of on a daily basis. It's a once sided, invalid perspective of love and it's not doing the feeling justice. To hate the idea of love relationships so much would basically be to secretly admit how much you want to love the idea and how much power it has over you.

So in order to avoid the jaded pieces, I've often displayed the idea that love is so hard and infuriating and frightening, but those are also the same reasons why it's so beautiful. It's why you feel euphoric and it's why most experience great highs and terrible lows. I've tried to be aware of that idea when writing. It's hard to get two people on the same page, but once it happens, oh man... Different ways to display that is by brining in comedic elements to pinpoint the hard times. That sort of makes the reader chuckle, but at the same time they can relate to the feeling or hardships. Then I sometimes list the reasons why you love this person. I've used specific examples like smells, laughs, memories, kisses, whatever and those romantic elements become the forefront of the piece, while the comedic ideas of someone driving you nuts are the backbone of the piece. I've become stubborn about mentioning the good and bad. It's worked well but I am looking to branch out and at least sometimes, go back to pure and simple love writings that don't list the reasons why it could be hard or bad and just concentrates on the good. My past experiences have affected that style I had years ago. But I did one the other day called "You Know Who You Are" which I'll discuss later.

However, "Baggage Claim" is one of my recent typical pieces about the hardships and greatness of love, all at the same time. Its about how two people have so many personal issues (baggage) but still manage to come together, put that aside, and attempt this daunting journey that is a future together. It's one of the bravest things we could do besides becoming a parent, and it's also one of the hardest. We're all so different as people, no matter if we wear the same clothes, like the same food, etc. We've all seen different things growing up and process that differently. To pigeonhole people to these stereotypes is simple and settling, but probably not reality. So the difficulty of mixing issues and living together is intense. Sometimes beauty ensues, others it can become toxic. This is the anthem that we're going to overcome our issues and needs that may not blend well in a relationship. And I tried to use the idea of the baggage claim in an airport as a metaphor for that journey and there are some funny things in there. Hope you like it!

Unfortunately, November is quickly coming upon us. I've been writing at a faster and more efficient pace than I've ever experienced before. I hope that translates into growth and just good writing.

Thanks.