Why I Write

As a homework assignment, I was told to talk about why I write. This was something I had to think about for a while. The first answer I could come up with was that I write because I have to, whether for English class or Journalism. The fact is, the only time I ever write is when I do have to, even though I dislike being told when to write or what to write about. However, when I was younger, I had my own diary. I honestly thought the diary was silly when I first got it, but either from extreme boredom (I live on a farm, had no cellphone, and facebook didn’t exist yet) or because I truly wanted to write but never had any motivation, I began to document how my day went every night.

A few years later, I found my old diary in my cedar chest. As I flipped through the pages and read what my 11-12 year old self wrote about, I noticed how many quirky little sayings and quotes I had come up with. I made my life sound like a movie, with good guys and bad guys and love interests. (I hadn’t realized it, but in the 5th grade I had the hugest crush on an 8th grader. The weirdest thing is that when I started high school and he was a senior, we started to date!)

So whether I would admit it or not, just like my younger self, I enjoy writing. I usually have to be in the mood to start, but once I do, ideas flow. I’m pretty sure I didn’t answer the question quite the way I was supposed to, but I got a background-story in so I think that’s good enough. :)