Joe Pyne
12/14/09
Creative Writing Final Project
"Starting From Scratch"
I reclined on the porch, overlooking a desert landscape of browns, reds, oranges, and yellows. New Mexico was a beautiful place to have started my new life. A state where even the environment surrounding me motivated me to focus on art and move forward with my creative lifestyle. I got up, stretched, and walked back inside my home. Placed on a hill, overlooking the outskirts of the city of Santa Fe, the house I now lived in was cheap, because it turned out one of my friends knew a real estate agent in the region who understood my financial boundaries, and gave me a lucky break. I remembered that day Abraham walked into AliciaŐs coffee shop those years ago as I walked back inside and checked the clock. 9:58 AM. Might as well go down to the plaza and pick up a paper; maybe some coffee or tea from my new favorite teahouse, and try to get this landscape painting done.
ItŐs
been about 5 years after I met with my friend
who helped me move here. I had no idea what to do, and I thought about the life
I could have hadÉ if that life was supposedly so easy to attain, I realized
that it was worth all my effort to get past that first hump of difficulty and
to face the challenge head on, and to overcome any initial obstacles. When
Abraham showed up and told me about this house here, I decided I could started
from scratch. So I did. I went back to art school after persuading my parents
to float me for a few semesters while I made some money
working part time. Meanwhile, Abraham had told his real estate contact to
connect with me, and I let him know that I was interested in the house. I was
ready for a new life, free of the monotonous drag of an office job and
pressures of city life. I walked out of my house, and partially skipped down
the slight hill from my driveway. It was February, and it had snowed two days
ago, leaving a beautiful white blanket that covered everything from the trees
and bushes on the sidewalk, to the fire hydrants and the crumpled up trash that
didnŐt quite make it into the trash can next to it. The teahouse was only a
block away, and I couldnŐt get the image out of my head of that day I sat in
AliciaŐs shop looking for a path to follow. I smiled to myself, and looked up.
A few small birds chirped as they flittered by overhead. It couldnŐt have been
a more beautiful day.