Why I Write

Since I was a teenager, putting my thoughts, prayers and feelings on paper has always been my way of ‘staying sane’. The paper understood me and allowed me to be me without explanations. Don’t you just hate explaining ‘you’ sometimes? Especially when you are not even too sure what’s going on yourself. This month marks nearly a year since I started sharing my thoughts, my world on a blog. Eleven months later, I found out that I always have to go back to the ‘why’. September was one of the tough months for me to write. Maybe I was taken up mentally and emotionally with my job as an educator, parenting adult children and the plethora of things that come to ‘possess’ our minds daily. Writing became a bit of a struggle.

I discovered a few things during these few months. Just like being a parent and an educator, I always have to stay true to my purpose. Children and students often appear not to hear a word you are saying. You get up daily, you pour your soul into them – next day it’s as if you said nothing to them. And you do it again. You stay true to your purpose. Sometimes it takes a while for them to acknowledge that what you do matters to them. Writing can be like that. People don’t always tell you that your writing matters. Keep doing it anyway. You cannot always use people’s response as your thermometer. If we only write to get good responses [many hits and likes], we will undoubtedly become disappointed at times.

So this month, I had to dig deep to remember why I write. I also realized that many people in ‘our world’ are not readers. Or they have little interest in what we write about. They’re happy for you and that’s it! They encourage you – go do your thing! Yet, they hardly ever read a post or even comment. Some read and never hit a ‘like’. Others are very busy – they want to, but sometimes it may take awhile for them to catch up on our posts. My family is a prime example of all these🤣😂. This is life. It is what it is. Not everyone will ‘get’ what we are passionate about or have the time to support us the way they might want to. And it’s OK! I don’t always get other people’s passions either.

The truth is, I have to do it for me! My hope is somewhere along the road, my thoughts, prayers and experiences may encourage, challenge and inspire someone to not ‘check out’ of life. So, whatever you do and whoever you are- lawyer, teacher, mom, dad, minister, marketing, farmer, sales, painter, landscaper, baker, writer, student, nurse, doctor, retiree or maybe you’re trying to find you. Never forget your ‘why’! It gives you purpose and fuel for the long road ahead. It’s good to hear that we are valued. However, we may never hear it as often as we’d like to. We need to KNOW that we are valued.

While you are at it – let someone know that you value them and/or their work. Especially the ones who show up in your world daily. Your parents, children, assistants, the checkout person, your garbage man or lawn guy. When you see good content- hit a like or comment on a blog that appears to have little traffic. Respond to those who take the time to read your content and comment. We never know how we might encourage someone who may be struggling with their ‘why’ today.

***I am reposting this as part of #bloaganuary2023. This is the prompt for January 6th -‘Why do you Write?’