I Write

I suppose being a male English major is some kind of oddity around the Northwest University campus. I didn't know that when I filled it in as my major on the application paper work. All I knew is that I loved words, words that filled the pages of great books. I wanted to learn how to do that, basically because I so desperately needed a way to communicate.

Why do you write? I guess there are a number of reasons why someone chooses to write. Maybe some of you are just naturally gifted writers,  to put it bluntly, you're just good at it. I write because I was a shy boy afraid to speak. I'm not talking about the shy little butterfly feeling you get before you have to get up infront of a group of people and give a speech. I'm talking about the shy, I'm-going-to-literally-die-here-and-now if I have to talk to anyone at all. I would and still do get physically ill if I have to do any sort of speaking engagement. I'm the kid who used to lay in his bed at night tucked under his covers worrying about the first day of school, and that the teacher might call on me to introduce myself to the class by saying my name and where I'm from. I absolutely hate introductions. All through my middle and high school years I would skip the days I had to give any sort of formal presentation. I would have rather gotten an F and my parents yell, lecture, and ground me, than put myself through talking infront of people for a minute or two.

But something happened while growing up a shy scared boy, I kept a lot inside. I'm a person who's passionate about a number of topics. I have a need to express myself and make my ideas known, because a few of them just might be good. I even have stories inside of me that scream to be unleashed into the world. But having such a strong case of social anxiety became a major problem with someone who desires to share such things. That was until writing found me. Writing became the outlet of release I needed in my life. I write because instead of joining people in the daily tradition of using their voices to communicate the deep happenings in their life, I prefer the art of scribbling, or typing, little meaningful marks all over a page. I write so that I too can share in the human experience.