Why I Write: A Lit Review.
Although I have a personal fear of writing and ironically publishing my own work, nothing, besides myself, will stop me from writing. Even then, I will continue to work past my fears by remembering my past achievements and the books that have inspired me to get my words down and express myself. I have had the chance to explore writing from a personal and a creative aspect throughout my life. From my childhood through to my present days, different writers, and many other posts that I have made myself have inspired me to write.
My first story was an assignment for First Grade. It was about a caged bird and a free bird — the free bird looking at the caged bird, wanting that life because they had constant food. The caged bird looked at the free bird and wanted the ability to fly as far as possible. The story ends with the free bird flying away, knowing that they cannot be with the caged bird and the caged bird dying of a broken heart. In retrospect, my childhood was as sheltered as it was maybe reflected upon my small child writing. This was the only way to express my frustration without knowing I was frustrated. Still, I just learned the few words to describe how I felt at that time, so I jumped to the opportunity to express myself even as a child.
The first books to really help me escape were the Archie Comics. I would spend all of my middle school and most of my high school summers at the library. Inside the kid’s section, the school year weekends in a tree-house that was inside the library. Once I was too old, I would hang out in the quietest areas and read comics and books on parts of the world’s world and religions. I always went back to the Archie comics, though. They were a group of friends that no matter what chaos, drama, or flaws were exposed within their group. They were always best friends even if sometimes they were broken down to factions. I came from a home mass cluttered with drama, all kinds of it, to a home where there was only my mother, the drama didn’t stop. Still, it was more of a “she didn’t know better” situation, and I am now working through this myself. So I grew to love my real-life group of friends as if we were Archie and the gang. I idealized that this group of friends was my new family. After High School, I went on my own way and had my own life adventure to explore.
Then came Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thomson and On the Road by Jack Kerouac. These books are about people traveling through America looking for the American Dream. Living through alternative means and making it all work against the grains off society. This mentality has positively influenced my life decisions to travel, explore, and keep finding myself through life and always become an ever changing person. Yes, some of these books do have some sort of heavy drug use. Yeah, it might have influenced me to partake in severe alcohol and drug use in my early years. Still, first, I say, “kids don’t mimic books, TV, or movies. That is just dumb.”. Secondly, I realized as I grew as a person, the characters did rise through the stories themselves. They became better due to life lessons learned through the insane journey. Mostly by their ability to self-analyze their own life and agenda versus the reality of the world around them. This was a sort of information I always gravitated towards as a teen and young adult.
Literature has given me the chance to create a personal analysis, and this is who this is in the end. I am trying to figure out who I am through my other various skills, and opportunities are given in life. I have had the chance to read, write, cook, and perform. I have so many things available in life. Like many friends of mine have pointed out, I am a very tenacious and driven woman. So I will push myself to continue to work through my written works.
