Writing has always been a passion of mine. I have enjoyed writing since I was about eight years old.  To be honest, I am no good at sports, math, or even drawing, but I am have always been very curious about the world. The world has so much going on. There’s never a dull moment! When I think about the world, the people that roam this planet, I want to see and experience all that I can. I think that is part of the reason that I love to write.

I love to write because I can write freely or if I wish, I can write structurally.  Writing has always been my escape outlet. My voice. The core to my very being. I grew up in an environment where I learned quickly to keep my thoughts to myself. My thoughts were better left silenced to avoid the verbal whip lashing from a viscous maternal tongue. So, I wrote. I wrote whatever I was feeling. I wrote anything that I could release with imagination and that creativity, my culture, went in to my writing.

I first began to journal and that allowed me to get all of my thoughts out, to express myself without reprimand.  I felt as if no one heard me when I did use my voice. I felt as if no one understood me, and no one asked to understand me. In those journals I could speak my mind. It was my voice. I was listening to my voice. Aside from the journal writing, I do mostly enjoy writing poetically. Poetry is fun, exciting, and can be as unique as you make it. Poetry can also be very challenging and I love that about poetry.

I learned quickly that the more that I wrote, the pencil or the keyboard were not going to judge or degrade me. Teachers and other readers might, but not the pieces physically themselves. I had created a place of safety. A place even safe enough to complete release myself.  I know that writing is the best way I can express myself.  Writing is absolutely beautiful. It is a form of art and a form of Identity. 

It is a part of who I am. A writer. An English Literature major. Even though I still have ways to go with progression and advancing my writing, I believe that even at my stage now, I am talented. I have a talent and that talent allows me to use my voice. I am blessed to have friends that enjoy reading the pieces I write and encourage me to continue. I have often felt alone in this world for various reasons, but writing has always been there for me and when I write everything is so clear to me. This is why I write.

-B