I hated you. I despised having to sit at a table, a desk, sometimes lie on the floor, and have to think up something to put down on paper. I detested the process. I abhorred the time I felt I wasted conjuring up ideas that were worthwhile. But it wasn’t your fault. I was just insecure.

Every time I had to write, my world stopped. I was going to be judged on every single idea I put on that paper. My tone, my phrasing, my voice, my style, my punctuation…all were going to be scrutinized and I was the only one that could be held accountable. I couldn’t blame incomplete ideas, or fragmented sentence structure, on anyone else. My run-ons were evidence of overlapping my competition in the race to blurt out a coherent thought.

Clever similes sank the ship that carried the weight of my message like the tip of the iceberg that fell the Titanic. Blustering forward, the iron heap happened to heave heavy hopes of helping others heed my warning. Every alliteration was an iteration of the overworked imagination trying to eliminate any obfuscation.

And yet I meandered on, sliming through the mud with hands grasping at the ground as if they were the ideas I needed to complete a paper. I sweated it. I fussed. I worried. The finality of putting your thoughts on paper was horrifying.

But then I realized that there was freedom in writing. There was the possibility to clarify, educate, explain, apologize, and even enamor. And to have someone fall in love through the written word, well that’s an experience all on its own.

I hated you. And to be honest, I still do. But now I know your value. I know that we get so lost in trying to explain ourselves when we talk with others, that nothing meaningful is ever said. That’s the beauty of writing. You write. You revise. You rewrite. You edit some more. You whittle and shape and mold your thoughts to the point where you can’t be any clearer.

I didn’t appreciate writing. It’s not just about schoolwork. It’s not just about resumes and cover letters. It’s presenting yourself to the world. It is allowing someone into the darkest recesses of your mind. It’s contributing to the human condition by opening yourself up and saying something you believe is meaningful and important. It is promoting ideas and creating conversations.

Honestly, writing is all about getting your point across. You can be verbose and pack a paper with plenty of playful paragraphs, or you can be succinct. However you decide to do it, do it. Contribute to the larger conversation. Inspire others with your thoughts. Get something off your chest. Make that special person melt in love when they read your loving words. Put pen to paper.