My Love Affair with Writing

[This is my entry for the February group writing project over at Confident Writing.]

Like any relationship, my relationship with writing has had its highs and lows. Sometimes we have co-existed without acknowledging each other’s presence. Sometimes we have struggled to find a common ground. Sometimes we have come together in perfect harmony.

This relationship started early in my life. I quickly learned that writing came easily and naturally. I loved the daily writing period at school. I relished in the praise I received from teachers. In high school I considered a career in journalism. I joined the high school newspaper and spent two years as a reporter. For reasons that today escape me, I chose not to pursue this career.

As I entered college I still held writing close to my heart and hoped to one day be an author. However, as I grew, more expectations in my writing ability were expected. When I wrote a story that received a luke-warm response from my professor, I was somewhat taken aback. Writing was my specialty. It’s what I did well and everyone was supposed to admire it. Perhaps this relationship had run its course and was coming to an end.

During college I found a new love: Criminal Justice. I graduated with a BS in Criminal Justice Administration. I pursued this newfound love through work as a paralegal; investigator and finally a performance auditor. Within all these careers, writing was still a part of my life, although it was used in a different manner. I wrote answers to interrogatories; business letters; investigative reports and audits. I still enjoyed writing and took pride in my product. As an auditor my boss tried to squash the creative style out of me. He wanted the conclusion at the beginning of the paragraph without a lot of flourish and drama leading up to it. I struggled with this style and often had my reports rewritten. I eventually left the Auditor’s office and my professional career to stay home with my children. In order to assist in our family income I have run an in-home daycare for the past 5 years.

In the eighteen years since graduating college, my love for writing has always been with me. Patiently waiting in the background at times till I was ready to welcome it back into my life. Over the past few months I have opened my heart again to writing. I have relished in the joy it has brought me. I have pursued a new career that will put my writing to the test.

Words are constantly circulating in my mind, forming sentences and paragraphs and stories. I liken it to the musician who always hears the music in his head. When he sits down to the piano the music flows to his fingers and out for the world to hear.

Although I enjoy sharing my writing with others, it is also like that special someone in your life. The person whom you share your inner most thoughts and secrets. It is someone who will listen without judging and gives you peace of heart. I often find comfort in just sitting and writing down my thoughts even if I don’t share them with anyone else.

I know that this love affair will endure till the day I die. There may be more rocky roads in store for us, but we will always be together.