Why I Write

When I was younger I was in Foster care. At one particular time I moved in with my older sister. She used to write poetry and I would sneak into her room to read it. When she left the home she left all her journals. I would read them and it would help me have something of her to hold on to. I would also read the Maya Angelou poems she had. Who till this day is one of my favorite poets. She is also one of the people who inspire me to write. After my sister left I kinda started to play around with words. I wanted to express myself like she and Angelo were doing. Once I began to get a feel for it. You would always see me with a piece of paper and pencil. Writing was my private escape from life. I had  a lot of emotional issues growing up. Neglect and being in foster care can really messes up a kid. But through writing and God being present in my life I was able to muddle through. I believe I was ten at the time. I found out not only did I enjoy writing to release my feelings. I was actually pretty good at it. I could write on anything. I started just thinking about topics and I would write a poem about it. When I turned fourteen I was adopted by my family. I continued to write but I started getting recognition in high school. My parents would tell me how good I was at writing. But I always would respond that’s what your suppose to tell me.

I entered several contest and I wrote a play during my high school years. I enjoyed my English classes I was good at writing papers. It wasn’t my favorite type of writing. I love writing but I do not enjoy MLA formatting and strict guidelines for my writing. I took a year off after high school and it was a hard year. I am sometimes known to be an over thinker and a bit of a worrier. Its all the years I spent as a foster kid not knowing where I would end up in life. I spent that time filling up so many journals with poetry. Trying to figure out my purpose and what I wanted out of life. That probably was the most difficult year of my adopting process for my parents to. I would spend hours talking to my Mom about what I wanted to do for college. Finally I was tired of being at home and applied for Seminole State College of Florida. I started my own Creative Writing Club at school and I was sold. Writing was my purpose. It was my gift.

         I write to remember those that have come before me and inspired me. I want to bring hope to the world in some small way. Whether it be bringing a smile to someone’s face. Or allowing a reader to escape from there lives for a while. I write to leave a positive legacy for my generation and the generations to come. I write as a way to express myself and sort out my feelings. I write because it is one of the things that brings me satisfaction in life. Writing is such an essential part of who I am. How do I know this? Because it is something that I couldn’t go the rest of my life without doing. This is why I write.