I've mentioned before that I am addicted to writing and I always have been. But most people I know and converse with don't like to write. The fact that they don't enjoy my favorite hobby has always mind-boggled me a little bit because I love it so much. But then again, they don't understand how I can love something that they hate so much.
So then they always proceed to ask me things like, "Why bother? Why do you write? Nobody likes reading anymore, so why do it?" I always shake my head and silently laugh at their ignorance. People do enjoy reading and writing. If they didn't, there wouldn't be things like movies, television shows or best-selling books.
But what really gets me is that because they don't understand why I like my hobby, they immediately try to put me down. I would never look at an athlete and say, "Because (insert name of sport here) isn't as popular as football, the sport you like is stupid." People like different things and that's okay, in fact, it's preferred. Variety is what makes us different and special.
So, to answer their ignorant questions, I write because I don't know what I'd do if I didn't or couldn't. I love that something that exists only in my head becomes scratches on a piece of loose leaf paper or a typed story on a computer screen. I make my thoughts come to life on paper and make characters existed only in my imagination come alive. I write because it makes me happy. I write because it makes others happy. I write because I have a voice and I choose to use it. I write because I can. I write because I need to; it's my livelihood. I write because the pen is mightier than the sword. I write because I can use it to make a difference in this world. I write because I know that it's what I was put on this Earth to do.
So the moral of the story is that I love to write and even if other people don't, that's okay. We don't have to have the same hobbies. Go play soccer, go paint, go play musical instruments;
do whatever makes you happy and I'll do the same. I won't question it or why you chose it and I expect the same courtesy from others. Respect goes a long way and it's a two-way street.
But to everybody that has been asking, this is why I write.
-Chelsea
