Why I Write

A few weeks ago I watched Mr. Holland’s Opus. If you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend it. Mr. Holland’s Opus is about Glenn Holland, an aspiring classical composer who takes up teaching to support his family. The film spans Glenn Holland’s 30 year teaching career. Over that time he touched, and influenced many people. One of them was Roweena. Roweena was a singer, whose dream was to sing on the stage in front of thousands of people.

That scene caused me to think about why I write. I don’t see myself as a people person. When I was younger, I avoided people as much as possible, except for those few I thought of as friends and with whom I felt comfortable and safe. Even today, after 20 years of working as a social worker, I still don’t feel comfortable in groups or crowds. I would much rather be with one or a few people in a group than in an auditorium on a stage.

Writing gives me the chance to do that. When I write, while I may be sitting at my keyboard, apparently with just me and a screen, I’m actually sitting on the porch or under a tree talking to just one other person, you. I can’t write to an audience. I can’t talk to a crowd. I can only talk to one person at a time. As you read the words before you, or listen to them in a podcast, it is just me and you, two people having a conversation. As I write, I imagine how you hear what I’m saying, and try to make it as clear as possible. As you read, you listen and comment on what you are hearing. Associations are triggered. Emotions are evoked. Agreement is expressed, or opposition aroused. Even though we are separated by space and time, we are talking one to the other.

Just you and me, sitting on a porch, or walking in the woods.

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