“Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.”
~ Rainer Maria Rilke
There have been times in my life when people tried to dampen or even silence my voice by undermining my confidence thoroughly that I thought I barely had the right to take up the space that I breathed in. There was still a spark in me that wanted, needed to create. For me, it’s not just about self-expression, like some mysterious act of manifesting myself. It’s my way of understanding the world around me. It’s how I ask questions. Existential questions. It’s how I explore those questions and even try to answer them, no matter how inadequately. More importantly, it’s me asking the reader, but what do you think? Do you have the same questions? What are your thoughts? Because to me, writing isn’t complete until it is read. It’s the imagination of the reader that finishes the work. So in a very real way for me, however solitary the creative process is, writing is my way of connecting with others on the most profoundest of levels.