a bittersweet farewell
In 2011, I launched my very first website. The website was created to showcase my love of photography and little blog posts that I was obsessed with making for no apparent reason. I remind you that I was almost twelve years old at this point, and I want to say that everything has changed since then, but I’d be lying. I kept the website well-maintained and updated it constantly even though I knew I had approximately two monthly visitors. I mean, who really wants to type in a website address that looks like this: www.extreme-13-blog.weebly.com? I will answer this question for you. Nobody does. However, that never stopped me from trying to reach someone… Anyone.
Shortly after creating this (not very successful) website, I found out that I had a passion for creating things and this changed my life permanently. It started with photography, moved toward making websites, and then I discovered writing. All three of these creative outlets have stuck with me ever since and I am so grateful to have had the experiences that I’ve had with each one of them. In 2012, I co-wrote my first ever piece of writing with one of my best friends. It was inspired by a very powerful story about someone who was bullied to death. This short story was entitled ‘Carried Away’ and it was the first short story I had ever publicly shared. In 2013, I discovered a new-found love of an even more emotionally expressive outlet. That outlet was poetry. For weeks at a time I would come home from school, sit in bed, and write my little heart out. But I knew the world would never see these pieces because they just weren’t good enough.
After Carried Away started catching the eyes of a few of my peers, I knew that the next step was to do a little updating with my website. Nearly four years after launching my free, non-customized website, I decided that I should make something legitimate. Something worth clicking on. In September of 2015, I launched garettsharp.com. It was a little messy, but much less of an eyesore as the website I mentioned earlier. It was where I sent all of my friends because I thought it was “cool” and “convenient” when they asked about my story.
Looking forward a few months, I found myself finishing up a new short story written in the form of journal entries. This was something I had never seen before, but was eager to try out. This collection, called ‘Fine’, was shared publicly on Wattpad in December of 2015. This sparked a monumental change on garettsharp.com. Everything was much more professional and presentable. I knew that I wanted to keep this going. I knew that if I made a place to share my own accomplishments, I would get more and more visitors. At this time, I noticed I was getting about 60-80 monthly website visitors. I was amazed by this and I wasn’t about to stop there.
My poetry skills began to improve and I was becoming more confident in some of the pieces I had written. I’d finally worked up the courage to drop my first ever collection of poetry on the twenty-third day of April in 2016 called ‘Imperfect World’. I released another called ‘Overexposed’ in July, ‘Fragments’ was born in February of 2017, ‘Trilogy’ again in July, and finally, I released my first full book of poetry called ‘Monochromatic’ in March of 2018. I never stopped believing in myself. I kept pushing and pushing myself to create something new each and every day. I am grateful to have gained so much support and a few fans along the way. I have struggled with heartbreak, pain, and a shit-ton of family health issues. But I never gave up on doing what I loved. And this website is where I shared all of those moments with the ones who loved reading about it. Over the years, I’ve gained so much confidence, I’ve learned more about myself, and I’ve grown as a writer. This page wouldn’t even exist if I hadn’t picked up a pen and started writing my feelings. However, at some point, all good things must come to an end.
Writing is something I will always have. I will never stop writing until the day I die. I’m even working on a new book at the moment and I am so excited to share it with you all. But being a twenty-year-old in today’s world just doesn’t allow me to financially support the website anymore. Keeping things going here get pretty pricey. I always make sure that my work is as affordable as possible so you don’t have to break your bank just to read it. And with almost every piece I have released, there is a free version of it somewhere (such as Wattpad). At this point and time, I do not generate enough money to pay for this website anymore, so unfortunately, it must be shut down.
I will still be releasing new poetry, more spoken word pieces, and I will never stop doing my “thing”. However, I just won’t be showcasing it here anymore. To stay in touch, you can follow all of my social media accounts, keep searching my names on online bookstores/music streaming platforms, and who knows… Maybe someday I will re-launch garettsharp.com once again!
With much love,
Garett Sharp
Shortly after creating this (not very successful) website, I found out that I had a passion for creating things and this changed my life permanently. It started with photography, moved toward making websites, and then I discovered writing. All three of these creative outlets have stuck with me ever since and I am so grateful to have had the experiences that I’ve had with each one of them. In 2012, I co-wrote my first ever piece of writing with one of my best friends. It was inspired by a very powerful story about someone who was bullied to death. This short story was entitled ‘Carried Away’ and it was the first short story I had ever publicly shared. In 2013, I discovered a new-found love of an even more emotionally expressive outlet. That outlet was poetry. For weeks at a time I would come home from school, sit in bed, and write my little heart out. But I knew the world would never see these pieces because they just weren’t good enough.
After Carried Away started catching the eyes of a few of my peers, I knew that the next step was to do a little updating with my website. Nearly four years after launching my free, non-customized website, I decided that I should make something legitimate. Something worth clicking on. In September of 2015, I launched garettsharp.com. It was a little messy, but much less of an eyesore as the website I mentioned earlier. It was where I sent all of my friends because I thought it was “cool” and “convenient” when they asked about my story.
Looking forward a few months, I found myself finishing up a new short story written in the form of journal entries. This was something I had never seen before, but was eager to try out. This collection, called ‘Fine’, was shared publicly on Wattpad in December of 2015. This sparked a monumental change on garettsharp.com. Everything was much more professional and presentable. I knew that I wanted to keep this going. I knew that if I made a place to share my own accomplishments, I would get more and more visitors. At this time, I noticed I was getting about 60-80 monthly website visitors. I was amazed by this and I wasn’t about to stop there.
My poetry skills began to improve and I was becoming more confident in some of the pieces I had written. I’d finally worked up the courage to drop my first ever collection of poetry on the twenty-third day of April in 2016 called ‘Imperfect World’. I released another called ‘Overexposed’ in July, ‘Fragments’ was born in February of 2017, ‘Trilogy’ again in July, and finally, I released my first full book of poetry called ‘Monochromatic’ in March of 2018. I never stopped believing in myself. I kept pushing and pushing myself to create something new each and every day. I am grateful to have gained so much support and a few fans along the way. I have struggled with heartbreak, pain, and a shit-ton of family health issues. But I never gave up on doing what I loved. And this website is where I shared all of those moments with the ones who loved reading about it. Over the years, I’ve gained so much confidence, I’ve learned more about myself, and I’ve grown as a writer. This page wouldn’t even exist if I hadn’t picked up a pen and started writing my feelings. However, at some point, all good things must come to an end.
Writing is something I will always have. I will never stop writing until the day I die. I’m even working on a new book at the moment and I am so excited to share it with you all. But being a twenty-year-old in today’s world just doesn’t allow me to financially support the website anymore. Keeping things going here get pretty pricey. I always make sure that my work is as affordable as possible so you don’t have to break your bank just to read it. And with almost every piece I have released, there is a free version of it somewhere (such as Wattpad). At this point and time, I do not generate enough money to pay for this website anymore, so unfortunately, it must be shut down.
I will still be releasing new poetry, more spoken word pieces, and I will never stop doing my “thing”. However, I just won’t be showcasing it here anymore. To stay in touch, you can follow all of my social media accounts, keep searching my names on online bookstores/music streaming platforms, and who knows… Maybe someday I will re-launch garettsharp.com once again!
With much love,
Garett Sharp
Garettsharp.com will be available until April 7, 2019.
The garettsharp.com store will continue fulfilling orders until the above date.
You can follow Garett Sharp on social media using the follow handles:
Instagram - @sgsharp & @sgsharppoetry
Twitter - @sgsharp1
Wattpad - @sgsharp
You can also search for Garett's Work on:
Apple Music/iTunes
Spotify
Amazon Music
Google Play Music
Barnes & Noble (Online)
Books-A-Million (Online)
Amazon Store (Online)
And so many more.
Thank you for your support
Until next time...
The garettsharp.com store will continue fulfilling orders until the above date.
You can follow Garett Sharp on social media using the follow handles:
Instagram - @sgsharp & @sgsharppoetry
Twitter - @sgsharp1
Wattpad - @sgsharp
You can also search for Garett's Work on:
Apple Music/iTunes
Spotify
Amazon Music
Google Play Music
Barnes & Noble (Online)
Books-A-Million (Online)
Amazon Store (Online)
And so many more.
Thank you for your support
Until next time...