Writing
EXPRESSION
Reading & Writing. I wouldn’t say I’ve always been a reader, I much preferred watching TV most of my life. College opened me up to reading but wasn’t until graduate school that the love of reading to really took hold. The saying “take a look, it’s in a book,” from Reading Rainbow finally found its way into my consciousness. 😘
•
These days I devour others written words from everyday books and magazines to rigorous articles and journals. My mind craves information for the satisfaction of just knowing things, and I love to share what I learn.
•
The “how” of that sharing has been a struggle for me though. Writing can be incredibly difficult for me. A simple email will sometimes take an hour! My posts on IG, often the better part of three hours! There are times when writing is easier for me, when I feel like I’m in a flow, but more often than not that flow is a pond of molasses. I take heart in Maya Angelou’s quote “easy reading is hard writing.” It sure is.
“I take heart in Maya Angelou’s quote “easy reading is hard writing.” It sure is.”
•
Writing wasn’t always this way for me. Prior to junior year of high school (20 years ago), writing felt effortless and I felt proud of what I wrote, but after a series of traumas my writing voice tightened up and I could no longer get the words out on the page. I started to believe my words didn’t matter or that I really mattered.
•
Looking back, I can see some teenage thinking and perhaps teenage hormones at play along with the traumas, but the experience of words jumbled in a pond of molasses is still real for me— twenty years later!
•
Writing posts on Insta has been a challenge royale for me too, my sincere love of sharing what I’ve learned about mental health and wellness, and of my own healing steadies and sustains me. So, as I begin a new verse and chapter of my life, I’ll take heed in Reading Rainbow once again, I’ll take a look... and rewrite my own book!