"Express yourself" was a phrase that puzzled me growing up. How is one supposed to express themselves, when they hardly have their own self image?

Then, I received my first journal.

At the time, I did not think of filling it's pages as expressing myself; I thought of it as an escape from reality. I would write down what was going well in my life and what was troubling me, as well as ideas I had for the future. As I grew older, I began to realize that I was molding myself through each word I wrote on those blank pages. I was finding myself through writing, and I was expressing myself through it as well.

I choose to write for my past self, for my present self and for my future self.

My past self needs me to write now so that my self expression can keep continue to flourish. As I keep writing, I will keep learning more and more about who I am as a person, something my past self craved to understand.

My present self needs me to write as an escape from what is going on in my life, or as a way to recharge. I need to write as much as I can so that I am able to organize my thoughts. I need to write so I can work through emotions of anger, sadness and despair, whenever they arise. I need to write to forgive others. I need to write about every aspect of being alive so that I can see how pieces of my life connect to one another. I need to write on paper and online as a way to see how my writing can change forms and still keep it's identity.

My future self needs me to write, so that I have something to reference later on. The beautiful thing about keeping your writing is that at any point and time, you can read through what you wrote and learn new things from your old self. You can make even more connections, you can have a snap shot of what your younger self was thinking, you can relive happy memories and painful ones. All of which, will help you grow.

I choose to write for others.

I enjoy writing letters. I believe that receiving a handwritten letter is better than receiving a text, an instant message or an Instagram post.

A letter is tangible, a piece of time and love someone can hold in their hands. The person I write to knows that I wrote it thinking of them, folded it thinking of them, sealed the envelope thinking of them, and that I sent it thinking of them. That letter is only for them.

I also enjoy writing longer pieces that are inspired by others, by things I experienced with others, or come about because I think it could help others. Harnessing human emotion and then being able to create something with someone in mind is one of the ways I try to show my appreciation for an their influence in my life.

Finally, I enjoying writing for people who have yet to come into my life. For future children, for a future husband, for future friends. When I experience something that could be beneficial to one of these future people, I write it down in a word document or a journal. Then, when I want to write, I have a prompt to build off of.

I choose to write to express my hopes, my dreams, my appreciation, my love and my pain. I take myself, and I express it through rhythmically taping keys, or writing with ink.

I choose to write, because it gave me my foundation years ago, and it still helps me express myself to this day.