When I was a teenager, I started writing poetry, not because I wanted anyone to read it, but because I needed to get my thoughts, out of my head. There was so much about the world that I did not understand and writing really helped me to move forward, instead of just keeping it, going round and round in my head.
We grow up with this desire to question and understand. Something that I wrote about a few days back. Kids question everything all of the time and giving them the space to do so, is so important. It is something that we need to encourage and put value on, instead of shutting them down.
But anyway that is not what I wanted to discuss. My journey with writing, began with the need to express myself. To just release all the things that came up for me, most of my early poems where questions, questions I posed to the world, in order to try and understand why it is, the way it is.
I never expected any response, I just needed the opportunity to express my thoughts and feelings, to release them out into the world. When you feel so strongly about certain things, they can weigh you down, if you do not find an outlet for them.
I also believed that no one would be interested in what I experienced or what I had to say. Why would they be interested in a young girl, who grew up in the countryside and felt things so deeply. Best to keep all of that to myself. ( big shout out, to society for ensuring so many young people feel like that, but hopefully the tide is turning.)
Finding your voice, the courage to speak out, comes when you get older and more confident, until finally you reach that wonderful age, where you just don't give two flying fecks what others think. We all, have the right to be heard, to be listened to.
Others certainly don't have to agree with us, I mean the world would be a pretty strange place, if we all agreed with one another all of the time. Conflict and chaos, is what keeps things interesting (to a degree anyhow), it is a natural part of life. What is most important, is finding the balance within it all.
We don't, have to all get along, but it would be great if we could be respectful to others and learn to accept them for who they are. Each one of us, are on our own journey, all of us at different stages, having experienced so many different upbringings, that have shaped us, into who we are today.
I certainly, do not want to preach to anyone, but I do believe that it is important for us all to listen to one another. Everyone deserves to be heard! We all have as much a right to express ourselves, as anyone else!
We tend to forget this, especially growing up in a world where we are told that certain individuals, because of their status etc, have more privileges than we do. That just because someone studied for so many years it now make them an expert. But what about those who have lived it? There is only so much we can learn from books and studying itself can cause us to become detached from things.
Once again, this is where the importance of balance, comes into play. We can immerse ourselves in the theory, but miss out on the experience!
Nothing in life is ever one sided, life, is far too complex for that. So having the opportunity to hear/ learn about everything in between, is so important. It is what allows us to see the bigger picture in life. I know that I certainly want to have a fuller picture of life.
I want to know the light and the dark and the full rainbow in between. And yes perhaps you do not and that too is fine, that is your choice, but please don't stop that being a reality for me!
So I continue to write, partly because I still need to get my thoughts out of my head, but also because I want to contribute to the fuller picture. I want my voice, to be alongside those who wish to make the world a more diverse and inclusive place to be!
