Why do I write?
I have always been a sporadic writer. I wrote when I couldn't contain what is going on in my mind. This was kind of once in a blue moon occurrence and I didn't think about it much until last year. I was happy whenever I could write and that was that. Never thought anybody would be interested in reading my stories and that is the truth even now. Apart from a couple of friends who peek around in my blog, nobody bothers. And hey, no complaints!
Then why do I write? I don’t want to give a cliche answer like I write for myself. Although I can say that I write to know more about myself. There are breakthrough moments when I first write and then understand what was bothering me when all the while I was looking for the cause in some other direction. So writing helps with self-awareness. But do I have to post it on the internet for the world to read it? Isn’t it unnecessary? My writings are all personal ramblings and what is there to take away from my writing? These were the other questions that popped up in my mind when I thought about my writing.
I wrote an answer in Quora about being unmarried in my 30 and the reasons behind it. Those words were something that came from the core of my being. There was no pretension, no arrogance and those words expressed what I genuinely believed. Unlike my posts in medium, this particular post in quora got a lot of attention. Some men posted abusive comments to my post. I was amused about this because there was nothing provocative in my post and yet some men felt attacked. But there were also women, who are going through the same stage as mine and they were happy that somebody has given words to their thoughts and beliefs. It made me believe in the power of written words even when it is my writing.
Everybody's story is unique. But there are bits and pieces of our stories that reflect somebody else's at times. Stories make us feel less alone and more visible. It is such random connections that establish a more profound human intimacy. If my words can connect with at least one person once in a while, I would die as a happy person. That's why I write!
