#WhyIWrite

Today is National Writing Day, something I had no idea existed. I mean there are hundreds of Nation Something Days -- We celebrate our dogs, our siblings, our caffeinated beverages... But I never knew there was a specific day to celebrate writing. Pretty rad, I admit.

I first stumbled across the hashtag #WhyIWrite on Twitter and was intrigued. Scrolling through the tweets I instantly I felt this overwhelming emotion and couldn't exactly put my finger on it until I realized I was inspired and proud; proud to be a writer, proud of my dreams, and absolutely unashamed of my aspirations.

I haven't written on the blog in awhile because I have been feeling insecure about a lot of things. Not even just my writing, but my personal life. You know those black clouds that follow you some days where you look in the mirror and ask "Why am I ugly? What am I doing in life? Why am I not where some of my friends are in their careers"... Well I'm lucky enough to get caught in those storms for days on end. When I start comparing myself to others I can absolutely tear myself apart, whether it's about my appearance, my job or where I'm at in life. I may preach to be yourself and to remember life isn't a road race but sometimes it's really freaking hard to take your own advice. Discovering today was National Writing Day gave me that fire to get back into the swing of things and reminded me that this is my life and I can do whatever I want with it. I can be a writer, not everyone has to agree with my choices. Because it's my life. Not everyone is going to like what I have to say but that means they are still reading. But out of the small percent of people out there who may think I'm crazy there are hundreds more who support me and want me to succeed.


It's hard to take your own advice, but never lose sight of your dreams or convince yourself they're too far out of reach. If you aren't afraid of your dreams, you aren't trying hard enough to reach them. I say it all the time but never settle in your life about anything, especially when it comes to your career. Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.

Here's the thing about writing: It's hard. Writing is draining. Writing can make you feel like you climbed the tallest mountain but then push you off the ledge and watch you fall down the summit while laughing at you. Writing can free your brain but at the same time your imagination absolutely consumes your conscious.

At the same time, writing is beautiful. At the end of a particularly stressful writing day I can look back at all the scribbles, cross-outs and crumbled pieces of paper and realize that through all the anxiety and hatred towards my own words I accomplished something. I finished that chapter. I finished that blog post. I got there and I can stare at my work and see what I have created. It's an incredible feeling. Each view on my blog I smile, knowing that my words are being ready by someone other than the insides of my journal. Hoping that someone out there is looking at my words the way I have looked at many other writers words since I was a kid.

Writing can seriously change the outlook on anything; it has for me many times. I've always been a reader and I will admit that I would much rather stick my head in a book than talk to most people. There are books I've read so many times the pages fell out of the binding and I had to buy a new copy. I have books that are highlighted and dog-eared while other books I barely read myself because I want to cherish them and keep them clean. Words are an amazing thing. They make us think, they make us reconsider. Words can change us.

National Writing Day means a lot to me; it's a day I am going to chose to celebrate everyday. I realize now that I don't want to be a writer, I am a writer. I can take every thought, emotion or circumstance and put it all into words and create something. I may be able to make someone sit and think "YES! She gets how I am feeling!". I am really starting to see how lucky I am to have found something I am passionate about when I was nine years old and continue to love and appreciate to this day.

To end this blog post I would just like to dedicate National Writing Day to the first author who I considered to be an inspiration to me; someone I still look to in her writing when I'm feeling insecure or stuck, a woman who goes to great lengths to research for her stories. A woman who made me look at life in many different ways through each of her stories.

If by some miracle you come across this post and made it this far, I dedicate this National Writing Day to you, Jodi Picoult. Thank you for being my motivation and my inspiration every single day as I begin my journey of becoming an author. You are incredible.