Writing

Writing

I was 18 years old when one of my cousin’s gave me a journal as a gift.  He had seen me show interest in writing but until then I hadn’t had a proper journal or anything. At that time I was getting ready to move to America and this is what he gave me.  He wrote down his mailing address into that journal and said, “don’t forget write to us and you can’t have any excuses about not knowing the address”. I got really excited, it may sound simple but I had never had a journal before. I gathered many other addresses in it after time and always wrote to my family long after I had moved.

Coming to the U.S was my first time ever traveling outside of my home town. Everything from the jet plane to hearing English all around me was an entirely new experience. I wanted to capture that moment, so I wrote down every detail of my trip. In my journal I said that, “the woman who is sitting next to me must be American she is so white, her hair is blond and she is speaking English to me, she doesn’t know I don’t speak English but I am carefully focusing on each word and answering her in my broken English”. I had henna tattoos on both of my hands when I met her. I observed that, “She is fascinated by henna and asked me if she touches it, will it come off”. It’s been twenty two years since I took that trip and still today when I open read it, it takes me back to my first trip on the KLM Jet.

Once I moved here I had a lot of free time and I would write daily about anything. But as time progressed life became so hectic and busy that I was unable to maintain my daily journaling. Yet still every vacation or journey I have been on, I had my journal with me. It’s almost like having a best friend with you. I have countless journals filled with my life’s stories and events.

Like many people I don’t buy a new journal every year but when needed. When my birthdays come most of my gifts have turned into journals, that’s best gift anyone can give it to me. Every single journal of my life is like treasure to me. It is more than paper, it is full of life. As computers became more advanced and accessible I began to journal on the computer too, but there is something unique about an empty page in your hand that you fill with your thoughts and ideas.  

Over time I have watching my writing style change as well. I write down how my month was, good or bad, and I make a list of everything that happened. As humans we tend to focus on the negative more than the positive but once you write it down and look at it, more good things happen than the bad.  

Writing has been helping me to deal with any kind of situation I am in. I am very honest with my self and with my writing, once I write it down it doesn’t matter what kind of situation I am in, I can see everything on the paper clearly. In a way it’s a mirror of what I am dealing with and how I feel about it. It isn’t the easiest thing to face but it’s the only way to learn from life.  

I use to be very shy person but my writing has helped me to come out of that shell. My confidence and self-esteem is higher now and I have a dream to one day publish a book.

Writing is a very powerful tool that helps to make our lives better, easier to cope with, and remain on the right path too. It has helped me be myself.  

Have a great summer

Happy writing!