Consciousness is a funny thing. The nature of how every person processes and perceives the world around them is entirely subjective. The burdens of that subjectivity also vary from person to person. There is so much to take in at any given moment. I find that I can only take in so much before my mind becomes overloaded, like a sponge that cannot hold anymore water. Writing gives me the ability to process the noise that I experience as a result of existing. Writing gives me a way to be introspective and analytical that I cannot do thorough any other medium. I write because I can turn my thoughts from the noise in my head to something real. It brings the the imagined into reality. Writing gives me the potential to create in much the same way that a paintbrush gives an artist the ability to produce a masterpiece. My digital canvas is a blank slate that opens me up to a world of possibilities. I write because it allows me to record memories while they are still fresh, so I can remember them for decades to come. I write because it allows me to look at all sides of a situation in order to understand what has happened from multiple perspectives.
Before I began to write with passion and purpose, I had difficulty focusing on anything at all. I did not know it until much later, but the things that I have learned through my writing are techniques that have been used in mindfulness meditation for decades. Writing is a form of meditation for me. I can dive deep into my consciousness and pull things to the surface that I otherwise may not have been able to manifest.
The most important reason why I write is because it gives me the ability to touch the lives of others across time and space. I could publish a book, or make a post online that will exist long after I have died, and travel farther and faster than I ever could on my own. If I could write something that affects a single other person in a positive way then I can say that I have achieved something as a writer. I don’t write for fame, fortune, or prestige. I write because it is freeing for me. I write because it is my one and only creative outlet. I write because I have to. I write because if I don’t know how not to. I write because I am a writer.