The thread that binds me to others

Positive Writer is hosting a writing contest: How Writing Has Positively Influenced My Life. Here’s my response:

 

I come from a family of creative women. My grandmother made patchwork quilts, and my mother painted in oil and acrylic. Me? I write. Writing is my creative outlet.

I can sew, but I need a pattern for that and the end result is already planned. Writing is where I can be in charge. I decide the end result. Writing is the way I express what can only be expressed by me.

 

I don’t think fast on my feet. Never have. I prefer to hash out facts and feelings on paper before prematurely speaking them out loud and thus hurting someone or sounding like an idiot because I can’t put my thoughts together in an understandable way.

Writing provides me the opportunity to make sense of the world around me and to think before acting or speaking.

 

Writing introduces me to people I may not have known any other way. For example, this past weekend a stranger named Kevin emailed me after reading a blog I wrote about my 2^nd great grandfather, Phillip Martin.

This ‘stranger’ was not a stranger for long. Phillip Martin is Kevin’s 3^rd great grandfather. We are Facebook friends now, and we’ve been emailing to get to know each other and share family stories.

 

Finally, my gift of writing allows me to bless others. Sometimes I write letters – you know, old fashioned friendly letters. People always appreciate a good letter.

I have written homeschool curriculum, appeal letters to insurance companies for others, news releases for a service organization, thank you notes, and more. I’ve been a proofreader for a seminary student, some friends, my sister, and other family members. And I am a writing tutor for middle and high school students.

 

I hear people say writing is a lonely pursuit, but it’s not. Writing keeps me connected to people whether I’m composing something important for a friend, sharing information with my tribe, helping someone learn to write better, or entertaining with a story.  Writing keeps me grounded to who and what matters most.

Copyright © 2015  Nancy H. Vest   All Rights Reserved