Sunken Treasure: A journey into the depths of my computer hard-drive

I recently took an adventurous plunge into the foreboding, deep waters of my computer's internal hard drive. I apparently haven't done this in a while because all sorts of unfamiliar shipwrecked folders were strewn about. Folders that once must have been dazzling and important destinations in my digital ocean were now barely recognizable, hidden beneath mossy layers of forgotten files and outdated extensions. Obstructive formations of half completed websites, projects, and executables loomed ominously in unorganized clusters. When you find yourself in forbidding places like this, especially when they are of your own creation, it can be somewhat overwhelming and discouraging. What was I doing there?

Well, it turns out that despite the unsettling pollution of what was once a vast and pristine body of address space, there was an intrigue and almost beauty about it. The scope of observable material stood as a reminder of what, where, and who I had been for the past several years. Every file, folder, and program, no matter how forgotten, contributed to the story. And then I saw it... the sunken treasure.

I stumbled into a folder simply labeled "Old." Inside this treasure chest were 59 word documents including poems, book reports, opinion essays, summer reports, oral reports, and personal narratives. They were mostly (but not all) school related, and the earliest dated back to April 25, 1998. I don't know that I've opened any of these since the day I wrote them, but going through them was like going through a time capsule! If only my eleven year old self could have known the value and interest these seemingly dumb assignments would be to me 13 years later, I may have saved more of them! They are very telling of my childhood personality and thought process, offering a unique glimpse at my past not only historically but mentally.

In an effort to further preserve these treasures, and understand my past, I will occasionally publish some of these writings here on The Pretender. It's possible that these throwbacks will not be interesting to anyone but me, but that's probably already the case with this blog.

Here's the challenge for you though, and I think it would be a valuable exercise for anyone; take an adventurous plunge into your own past and recover some of your forgotten writings and assignments. Maybe you don't have them stored on a hard drive, but instead have a journal or box of old school assignments. Wherever they are, track them down and then, in the comments below, share what you found! Were you surprised by anything you wrote? Were you as clever as you thought you were (or maybe cleverer)? What patterns in subject material do you see? How have you changed? Please share. And look our for some serious throwbacks of my own in future posts.