Hello, Readers!
What a rollercoaster life is, huh? As I've been reminded recently, it definitely is. A dance performance (it's true! I have a life away from the keyboard!) I was really looking forward to being a part of this month has just been canceled, leaving me with copious amounts of free time on my hands. I was already going to be running wild with a more open schedule than I'm used to, but now when I look at my calendar, I see a bunch of blank squares.
When talking to my dad about the situation, he asked me what I was going to do now that I have so much free time. I answered instantly that I'd probably write even more than I'd planned to, to which he remarked that I probably haven't had the availability to do so in a while– scratch that, in ages.
He's right! When I call to mind the last time I could write as much as my little heart desired, I was in late elementary and middle school, using my summers and lazy weekends to create some new, far fetched tale. As soon as my eyes opened, I'd race to the dining room and open up my computer, delayed my breakfast for as long as it took to finish my new, ingenious idea. At night, I'd lay awake ruminating over the next scene or a new character so that when I jumped out of bed with the sun– well, I was never an early bird, so maybe a little bit after the sun– and get to typing so I didn't forget it.
Those early writing days were sweet and long before high school business, college preparation, and college itself took over my life. Though I was funneling my focus into other interests that excited and energized me, it took away the 9, 10, 11, 12, and even 13 year old motivation I had to do what I loved the most. I simply had to write, and I had all the time in the world, so that is exactly what I did.
Writing is now not only my most heartfelt passion, but career I'm intending to launch into when I graduate this year. It's remained to me a necessary act, one that my soul needs, but now also one my wallet secretly wishes will fill it. Ha! And when else will I have the space, the empty days, and the time to myself to lean into my novel as I did when all I wanted to make the weird dream I'd had the night before and the character-developing-conversation I'd conjured into the start of an intriguing story? Will it be when the school year starts and I have homework, job applications, and graduation to worry about? Or will it be this blessedly free month in which I get to return to my old self?
The answers are: never, no, and yes! And though I wish that disappointments and cancelled opportunities weren't the reason for this new schedule, I can't help but thank fate for how I now get to benefit from it. Each closed door means the opening of a new one and even disappointment can breed new opportunity. In this case, it means that I have a few more weeks to be a writer and a writer only. To return to my roots and create, living in the world that only exists inside of my head– at least, for the moment.
When life happens, whether good or bad, it actually provides the fuel for us writers to reflect it onto the page, capturing our human emotions and experiences into our characters. At the most simple, it's an outlet for our feelings and a comfort in the form of our greatest love. So when the world lets you down, create your own and dive into it, escaping into something all your own. And whatever you do, don't let it drive you away from the page or discourage you. Push on, finding new discipline and new life in the words that pour out of you.
Maybe like me, you could use a reminder of where you started and why writing called to you. Imagine that younger you, jumping up and down with glee at the thought that they have the power within them to make something from nothing. And when you can't help but smile with them, let them lead you back to your keyboard.
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