Some people love to dance, or to sing, or to draw, or to watch videos on YouTube, or movies on Netflix; but I am one of the few people who enjoy writing and spilling everything in my head, onto paper.
Sometimes if you asked me to say something, I would probably need so much time to figure out what I want to say, that it becomes one continuous sound. And, other times I would have so many thoughts in my head, that whatever comes out, becomes a fit of silence. But when I write, I have all the time in the world to say exactly what I want to. There is no rush.
Just me, the page, and my imagination.
Some may ask why do I write and I have been asked many questions, like "How can you enjoy something so lifeless and boring?" Anyone can write, what you do is nothing different. I mean, can they, though? Well, I write because writing is something I enjoy and it is a skill that is quiet but dangerous, in a way. A friend once told me that the most dangerous person in the world is someone with a library card; but I replied that there is someone more dangerous than that. He asked, "Who?" I said, "Someone who has a library card and a pen."
I believe writing does give people life, though. Well, it gives me life, anyway, because when I write I express myself in many different ways, depending on what I'm writing. If I write copy for an advertising campaign, or a journal entry, or a business memo or a love letter, each and every single one of these pieces will be expressed differently. All of these give and expresses emotion and whether you are giving or on the receiving end of any of these.
When I was growing up, I loved reading. I'd finish a book within a week or two and these stories, depending on what I was reading, could make me shake with rage and anger, sink into a ball feeling defeated and helpless, and sometimes it'll make me feel like I was invincible and prideful. In my own pieces, I try to express myself as much as I can, so sometimes it can feel persuasive and urgent, other times it can make you feel happy and sentimental; a few times maybe you'll feel giddy and full of excitement. What I've tried to learn how to do recently, though, is helping my readers feel calm and at peace with tone, voice, and imagery. But feeling these emotions and knowing that you can feel them, is what life is about and to experience this sea of emotions in this cold, hard world that we live in, is the beauty of being human.
They say if you don’t have ups and downs in life, you're not going anywhere. Others say that if you're not fluctuating, you're dead. Well, for me, you may not be dead but you’re certainly not alive. I believe it’s the same with the way I write. I write from experience – through the good, the bad, and the ugly; and if you don’t experience the bad stuff, how in the world do you know when you’ve got a taste of the good ones?
What some people may see are only letters joined together to form a way of communication, but that’s the beauty of it too. Writing is a visual and vocal sensory application in our world that was created and designed to connect one another. It can take you places that you would never think you’d be able to go, you can read the thousands of stories about people and understand what they're going through, who they are to them and in the world, and shed light on the intricacies of living their life, even if you’ll never meet them. You can learn about the deepest, darkest places and times in human history and reflect on the way people live now today. It's a way that we communicate through time and space, whether we choose to see writing that way or not.
For me, writing is a way to connect with people, places, and time. And, although some ways are more prevalent and easier than others, it’s a way to understand, bridge gaps, and quench my curious mind unlike any other method.
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