Why I Write

When I was growing up, I wanted to be many things: a firefighter, a scientist, an actress, an athlete, an architect. These phases were fueled by everything from fear (I was terrified of house fires) to feminism (I knew that there weren't enough women in STEM fields). But through it all, there was one underlying ambition that never really went away: I wanted to write.

The difference was that writing didn't lend itself to daydreams in the same way that winning Oscars or Olympic gold medals did. I didn't fantasize about being a writer — maybe because I already was one. I wrote poems, stories, and songs. I wrote angsty journal entries and essays for school. I once wrote 10,000 words of what I thought would become a best-selling novel.

It wasn't until college that I realized being able to write wasn't just a form of emotional expression or a skill to raise my SAT scores. I studied screenwriting and linguistic anthropology, and developed a newfound appreciation for the power of words. I decided that if I were ever going to make an impact on the world, it would be by telling stories.

Fast forward a few years to today, and I've found a way to make a living from writing. I've written everything from online casino reviews to recipes, building a career around the conversion of words to money. Now I write to survive — to pay my rent and taxes, to buy the food I eat.

But beneath the keywords and calls to action, beyond the deadlines and careful calculations, there's something else that keeps me going. I still believe in the power of storytelling, and not the kind that every copywriter claims will boost your brand. I'm talking about stories that prioritize emotion over SEO: the kind of stories that pull you in and make you feel something, change your mind, or give you hope.

Some people say that stories like these are few and far between in the age of entertainment news and social media marketing. But I think they're looking in the wrong places.

I see these stories everywhere. They're in op-ed pieces on digital news sites and series on streaming services that push the boundaries of TV. They're in novels, of course, which will never become obsolete. Sometimes they're at the top of your Instagram feed — those addictive scrollable stories can live up to their name when done right.

I write because I want to tell that kind of story. I want to influence people in a way that has nothing to do with my number of followers. I want to get inside their minds, show them that someone understands, and remind them to care about the things that matter.

There have been times when a story I read gave me the support I needed, just by letting me know that someone else shared my struggles. There have been many other times when a story forced me stop and adjust my perspective, or made me realize that I needed to change.

So much can emerge from just a few words on a page or a screen. They create connections in the most basic sense, through a common language that unites us in a shared understanding of ourselves. They're the building blocks that construct our identities, our societies, and our world.

And when words are combined to create meaningful stories, they're the most powerful tool that we have.