Museum of Everyday Writing

If I were creating a museum that showcased everyday writing, I would fit as many examples as I could into a timeline of a person's life. The exhibit would lead you through winding hallways filled with countless examples of EW from all aspects of life. It would start with those letters that little kids write, you know those ones with all the spelling errors and wild ambitions. I like kids' imaginitive minds and the odd scenarios they can come up with. Moving through adolescence, the middle school and high school love letters are next. The overly dramatic "I will love you forever!'" notes that usually get thrown away after the breakup the week later. I think we still hold onto our naive ideas that a relationship that starts so young can last forever. I'm not bashing the ones that do, but they are uncommon. As college approaches, letter sent home to friends and family are bound to happen, whether they be handwritten or electronic. After meeting the love of your life at school, they go back home after graduation. So the young couple decide to send postcards and letters back and forth to keep their relationship alive and well. I feel like when you are able to have both sides of the story, you are able to make personal connections to the "characters." Years later, after marriage and kids and a long, happy life together, the couple passes away. The loving words engraved on their headstones would be the end of the exhibit. The museum was designed to make you feel like a part of the person's (or people's) life. It would give you insight from their point of view, rather than someone elses.