am i still a scrapbooker?

I know, weird question and also rhetorical since I'm not expecting a response from the webby abyss. I pose the question because a few days ago a friend asked me and I really didn't know how to respond without addressing the issue on a larger scale. I haven't the stomach for small talk. But, despite this, I stumbled and stuttered as her brows inched up and said in a very unnatural sounding voice. "uh, not really, but kinda." She smirked as though she new all along that it was just a phase akin to doc martins and acrylic nails.

Was it? Just a phase. I hope not since I have a crapload of stuff...but is the fact that I have an obscene amount of supplies enough to keep me going? Am I scrapbooker? Was I ever really one to begin with? Was I always slightly uncomfortable with that label?

The truth is, I never really took it too seriously. The pages in the scrapbook magazines seemed just a touch too Pottery Barn-ish. I mean to be that kind of scrapper, to care that much about it. I didn't, I don't and I just can't force it. Maybe that's why I always felt a little on the outside of the whole scrap phenomenon. I just couldn't really squeeze the square peg that I am into that round hole. The fact is I probably shouldn't have been bothering with magazines anyway. Sure they're inspiring, but I'd rather be living my life...and if I get some time in between then I'll try to do what I can with some scraps, some glue, a photo or two and a nice little story. That's enough.

That mini binder above from Staples is home to my current scrapbook. My pages are all different sizes and I display the book horizontally. I rarely use page protectors although they do exist for this size. Sometimes I just write. I include the good, the bad and the ugly. I tell the truth in that little book. I don't know if it's a scrapbook, but it is a piece of me. Perhaps in the same way scrapbooking is...occupying a small but fervent corner of my heart.