*Text of the poem typed below the image for ease of reading.* On finding my voice. It’s not easy making my voice heard as a woman writer. It’s just the cold, hard truth. Which means I just push myself harder to be the best at my craft. No excuses. I play Words like I play Sports; no pain, no gain, and never ever leave your heart on the bench. I encourage you all to be secure in your identity, whether you’re a writer or not, and to chase after your calling, your passions and dreams, without ever holding back. Who are you? What makes you *you*? And what mark do you wish to leave upon the world? Ignore expectations and stereotypes; dig deep and ask yourself the tough questions. It’s enlightening and liberating to take the time to sit and write your own self-declaration of who you are. What will YOUR legacy be?
TO MY BELOVED READERS:
I initially started my full-time writing venture with the intention to be completely anonymous. (I even considered staying “sexless,” but I knew that would make my writing very limited in terms of voice and POV.) Being an avid reader, myself, I knew how much readers appreciate it when authors are candid and real with their audience. People naturally want to relate to the author, and I understand that. But you see, in my case, I wanted to be faceless…nameless…to have people read my words as-is, without the distraction or influence of my identity or physical features. I wanted to see if people would like what I had to say, if my words held any power in and of themselves, if my work would touch peoples’ lives…in a sense, I wanted to see if I was any GOOD whatsoever.
Friday was a long, intense, and crazy day for me. I didn’t get any writing done, and I wasn’t able to post anything (even my daily haiku!), and I couldn’t be happier.
I spent ten glorious hours working on helping to build an interactive, modern version of the Stations of the Cross that my church creates every year for Easter. Called “The Way of the Cross,” the theme and the stations are vastly different every year, but the principle never changes: you get to physically walk through the final week in Jesus’ life in a guided, maze-like setting, and discover a deepening of your spiritual understanding. Whether you simply walk away having learned something factual you never knew before, or you walk away wishing to give your life to Christ, everyone has a different experience, everyone has a different take-away, and that’s what makes it so beautiful and amazing. Whether you feel something or nothing, no one will judge you because we are all walking different paths in life–everyone experiences this differently–and that’s okay.