Tell Me A Story

July 11th 2017

“It made me sad when I caught myself pretending that everybody out there in cyberspace carded about what I thought when really nobody gives a shit. And when I multiplied that sad feeling by all the millions of people in their lonely little rooms, furiously writing and posting to their lonely little pages that nobody has time to read because they’re all so busy writing and posting, it kind of broke my heart” ~Nao (A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki)

I read this quote to myself over and over and encased it in some tiny parentheses. It is profound…but true…and that’s why it as resonated with me for so long. It is from my favorite book of all time and I will eventually write a whole post about it, but for now I just want to focus on this little snippet.

Why do we write in the hopes of gaining an audience while turning a blind eye to people who hope and dream for the same? Why do we spend days on end typing about ourselves without reaching out and experiencing the beauty of other budding writer’s works? Why haven’t we seen this problem all along?

I’ll admit, I am really bad at reading other people’s posts and it took me hearing other people’s excuses to realize that. When my friends would muster up a collection of excuses as to why they haven’t read my posts, I began to realize that I had used the same excuses to justify why I haven’t been reading other people’s work. “I’m never in the right mood to read.” “I’ve been too busy to sit down and make time.” “I keep losing track of the posts that look interesting.” All excuses that I’ve heard and that I have used myself. (And if my friends actually do read this, I’m not shading you. I’m just pointing something about the human condition.)

But today I want to change that and I challenge you to do the same. I want you to tell me a story…or teach me a lesson…or explain something to me. In the comments, send me your favorite post that you have written, or even someone else’s post you found profound and interesting and I will read it and I will comment on it honestly and if you want to discuss it with me then I will be open to discussion. I am tired of living in my bubble where all I do is selfishly write and expect people to care. I want to make the first step towards caring and hope with all my might that people follow. I want experience the beauty in your writing.

Don’t be shy. I will not judge you if you are not the best at writing in English or if you’re new to writing and have trouble marking down your flow. I believe in you and I believe that if you are brave enough to write and put it out there for the world to see, then your work is worth reading.

Please join the movement. Look outside your lonely little room and realize there are other people out there who dream of the same things you do~

Jess