You see, this week I’ve been in a sort of creative slump. I could feel my brain going blank and I couldn’t think of anything to create. So naturally, when I need a creative boost, I reflect on the past.
Last semester, I studied abroad in Hong Kong. That would be the first semester that I wouldn’t be writing for Her Campus ever since Fall 2017. Now I’m back in the writing team for what will be my 5th semester. I can’t help but ask myself, even after that semester break, why do I do what I do?
If we dive really down to my past, my first memory of writing was in the first grade. We wrote weekly journals and made non-fiction books about crabs and butterflies. I just remember enjoying that so much. There was something satisfying about writing words on paper and seeing this idea come to life.
I guess that idea stuck with me through the rest of my life: the notion that I could make the ideas in my head a reality.
This led me to write more, whether it was for fun or for school. I remember being excited to go to sleep because that’s when I closed my eyes, I could visualize anything that I wanted. In middle school, I wrote fanfiction and poems. It was in high school when I was able to be an author of a published fiction book. In my senior year, I joined my school’s newspaper. Now in college, I’m still writing for Her Campus after all these years.
As much as I love writing, I have to admit, my passion for writing was not the same level as it was when I started. It sort of dwindled over the years. And as normal as it is to lose that drive, it scares me. What once was my drive to do things, just slowly became just a reason to do things.
So, this brings me to the question, why do I still do what I do?
To keep it simple, I’m not sure. I think the only thing I know for certain is that I can’t imagine a life without writing. Even though my fervor for the craft has died down, that doesn’t mean I don’t love it. Writing is an essential part of who I am and I can’t let that go.
In an effort to find inspiration on why I do what I do, I looked back on my previous articles. One of the quotes that stuck out to me was from the article, Giving Thanks to Art. It was in this article that I wrote, “I realized that when you share art, you share happiness.” That was two years ago. I think that statement still stands today. I write in hope that if I share my words and my thoughts, that it will bring comfort to someone. Sometimes you just have to reflect on the past and to understand why you do what you do.
