Maps

I've kind of realized my life is defined by obsessions. Is obsessions a bad word? Maybe. What I mean is that everything is intensified these days. I love passionately, get passionately angry, dedicate myself completely and wholly to something, or nothing at all. I'm hitting both sides of the spectrum pretty hard, with not a whole lot in between. That's a little weird, right? Anyway, my point was, maps. I am so obsessed with maps right now. Something about really old, wrinkly, brownish maps drawn in pen and ink has stolen my heart. I want an original, or a bunch of them, but turns out original maps from the 1800s are kinda expensive.

Anyway, I think this all started when perusing the library with a dear friend of mine, Morgan Brown, and I happened upon a book called The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. I took it home with me, and devoured it little by little until I was in love with science and cartography and children and secret tunnels and running away from home. This kid, although fictional, is an absolute genius!, and basically embodied the right kind of dedications that I wish I had. For instance, he does what he loves and it turns into art. A lot of me doing what I love turns into wasting a lot of time.

Anyway, for some reason this weekend I started thinking about these maps again, and how much I'd just love to completely wallpaper my walls with really old maps of explorations and the like. And then I found this.........American Memory from the Library of Congress. Clearly this website was sent directly to me from the heavens at a pivotal point in my life. Currently I am downloading maps like crazy and trying to find a cheap way to get them printed in ridiculously large sizes. Thus, wallpapering my walls with mystery and adventure, and of course, beauty. Because our world is beautiful and mysterious and full of love, and I am obsessed with all of these things.

Love, Jennifer