IDEA Improvement Act

Have you ever felt like a fraud? Sometimes I do. I go to family functions, and I go to parties and people ask me, "What do you do?" I inevitably get around to saying, "I'm a writer."

That's pretty painful for me to say, because I'm not writing. Oh, I write little stories here or there, but what have I really done? However, Saying that I am a writer becomes especially poignant for me when I actually write something. Because when I write the possibilities just jump out at me. I sit down and type out a few words and I can see the end of the story. I can feel the characters begging me to write more. They just want someone to hear them, they just want their story to be told.

And I sit at my computer and I write. I come alive with hope. My mind surges with possibilities. Life seems worthwhile when I'm writing.

And then I stop. I get so involved with school and looking for money so that I can eat that I forget. I forget what it means to write. To truly be alive.

And when I go home to my family I become lethargic and grumpy. I try to share my feelings, but my mouth doesn't work. My fingers know how to talk, but my voice shrinks at the task.

But I show my love to them as much as I can. And then I finally get a chance to write and instead of sleeping, playing a video game, or anything else that I can possible do to avoide it I actually write. And I come alive again. And my family seems more wonderful, and my life feels happier, and even when I struggle to tell a story my finger feel content with the role that we have been called to play in this great story.

I love my family. I take joy in my friends. I bask in the lovely glow of life. I praise the opportunities that my life affords. But when all is said and done: I write!