Why I Write

My mom's best friend from high school made me a coloring book for my 7th birthday. One particular page was blank, except for some simple script at the top that read "What I Want to Be When I Grow Up."

I listed different things on that page over the next few years. My occupations of interest ranged from reference librarian (Don't judge me, the mom on "Wishbone" had this job) to a dolphin trainer (What kid hasn't wanted to be this?!) and several other um...random careers.

However, one occupation was listed on every entry, without fail.
Author.

Even though I do not want to be an author in the strictest sense of the word (churning out novel after novel), for as long as I can remember, I have read and been read to, and consequently developed an abiding love of reading and writing.

With a very concentrated semester of writing ahead of me, I have arrived at three reasons why I am passionate about writing. I know, I know...I'm a senior...maybe I should've come up with these ideas sooner.

1. "We write to taste life twice."  
While perusing the journal aisle at Target, I saw this quote on a journal.

I thought, "This is exactly right." We taste life as we experience it and as writers, we enjoy it a second time as we relive the moments in our head and carefully select words to frame those moments.

2. We write to find connections between ourselves and our fellow humans.
In one of my classes, we have focused quite a bit on why people will always read stories about other people. I have been thinking that one of the reasons is we like to make connections between our life experiences and others' life experiences.
Whether it is in an in-depth profile piece or an anecdote or a comedy bit, we enjoy, we laugh at, we remember these stories when we say to ourselves, "I've done something like this," or "This is something that has happened to me." Simple, but true.

3. Writing is therapy.
Writing is a creative activity and I have only recently discovered how therapeutic it can be. I don't know how it works for other people, but whether I jot down thoughts in my journal (I've been keeping journals for seven years now!) or produce a piece to be published, I have found that it truly clears my head and allows me to move forward.

Enjoy today.