… Why I Love to Write in the First Place
There once was a young girl, barely six years old at the time, who experienced her first death of her family, the passing of her grandfather, Poppy, on her father’s side. Wrapping her wonderous mind around the concept of death wasn’t occupying her attention during the funeral; it was instead fixated on making her grandma, Nanny, now a widow had all the comfort and joys in the world. A week following the funeral service, this little girl drew some beautiful photos and wrote a note to her grandmother, sending it off in the mail.
Unexpectedly, she received a phone call from Nanny a few days later upon receiving her letter, overjoyed, subtly holding back tears.
“My dear, you just made my day, my week.”
Receiving a handwritten letter in return, the two harmonious exchanged bi-monthly letters to each other… to this very day.
***
The year before she entered high school, the same girl initially struggled with her grammatical skill set despite enjoying her English classes out of the rest and falling in love with reading until the wee hours of the night, temporarily disappearing into the worlds beyond the pages of the greatest stories. Seeing straight through her heart and her passionate desire to learn, her English teacher decided to meet with her twice a week during the fall semester an hour before homeroom started to help perfect her craft, turning a potential C- student into top of her class.
Taking creative writing classes through high school and college went from being intended as a break from her intense coursework and a way to unleash her passion for writing transformed into the need to comprehend all of life’s moments that became unbearable as her childhood and early adolescence became robbed, forcing her out of magical worlds so she could grow up too quickly. She didn’t even have to major in writing or English to know that was a calling for her: to relinquish her soul through storytelling.
Little did this little girl and becoming woman know throughout all those moments that she would soon publish not just one but two books in two different genres with a publisher, become an #1 new release on Amazon, book speaking gigs and become a mentor for first time authors all in a span of two years.
That little girl turned young woman is me.
And writing is a part of my authenticity, my identity, who I am.
Whether you asked me why I love to write when I was six years old or now in my mid-twenties, the underlying premise remains untouched by time over a span of two decades: it brings me so much comfort, healing, and peace of mind.
It sparks joy for me.
It’s my happy place, my temporary escape from reality.
It’s my own form of free therapy, a way to healthily process my thoughts, emotions, and past events.
It unleashes the fire burning in my heart and soul.
It’s an interest that gradually has evolved into a hobby, a passion and now my driving purpose.
Growing up, it was ingrained in my mind that to do something — pursue a successful career and have fulfillment in my life, I had to have a degree, a fancy and expensive piece of paper, from a top-notch university.
Without a doubt, I love my career and know I’ll enjoy my 9–5 job for the many years I’ll be employed and active in the workforce.
But isn’t the ONLY thing that can bring us fulfillment in our life.
There’s so much more! And they are the very things that drive us, the real reasons why we get up in the morning. And they are things that cannot be replaced, only unique to you.
Our relationships and friendships with family and friends.
Our interests and past times.
Our passions and social responsibility efforts.
Several months back, when I interviewed for a new role in the direction that I wanted to take my career, the hiring manager asked me:
“So, when you aren’t working, what are you like? What do you do in your free time and on the weekends?”
It such a personal question, making people more uncomfortable than asking “why you want this job?”
There are people out there who added some “fluff” to their answer in the attempt to put on a better first-impression during their interview. For me, when asked this question, my answer was sharing how I love to read and write, that my other passion besides pursuing the career path I’m applying for is writing. Sharing a true, unfiltered part of who I am and what I like to do opened a wonderful door for me; fascinated by my response, the hiring manager excitedly asked follow-up questions
“How have you seen your love for storytelling translate into your career?”
“What’s been the most challenging writing assignment you’ve had to date?”
“Who inspires you to write?”
***
I do not think a single day has gone by, as far as I can remember, where I didn’t write something creative, for something and no strings attached to anything academic-related; whether that be hand-written letters in cursive, daily entries in my journal or pages of what could become a future novel. I’m not me without it; it’s a part of my daily routine. It is something that I can both keep personal and private to myself and ultimately share it with others, for those that need to hear my stories, to know that they are not alone — that everything works out and no matter the circumstances, choose light, love, and life!
I think I would be lost without it, searching every square inch of the Earth’s surface to find my passion, but makes me, me!
What I believe fuels my writing as well that I would be crazy to forget is in my life, my personal boardroom, from all walks of my life: my family, boyfriend, friends, teachers, neighbors, and coworkers — everyone that has known about my passion and touched by it in some way, more than once.
They are the ones that pull me out of any massive and/or degrading spirals of self-doubt where I don’t feel like I’m good enough or wonder who will even read this. They love seeing me doing what I love, cannot help but radiant a smile from ear to ear. In fact, they are the ones that inspire me the most to keep telling stories that have either been locked up inside of me for far too long or that have yet to be unwritten — you can thank them for continually fueling my love for writing, even on the days or weeks where I feel like I’m in utter defeat and cannot see too far in the storm I’m in.
With my second novel being recently released, with members of my personal boardroom, my community, following my book journey and reading it, when I’m with them, they all say something comparable regarding my writing:
1) Praise about my recent work they’ve just read
2) Ask this question: What’s next? Any ideas for a third book?
I’ve barely celebrated my second book and my community, my people, are already looking forward to the next one, to hold onto the gift that I bring into the world by being strong to bring life’s challenging chapters to life in narrative across a multitude of genres.
It’s because the people I love in my life that love me back truly see that I’m me… that’s the reason why I am a storytelling and will never stop writing.
Stay tuned for more articles going in depth on The Reason Why which is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and where most books are sold! Check out it today and dive into your beyond!
Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZPWQFLX
