Dear Little Me

My friend recently messaged me saying, “Kelly, you are a writer.” I think that was one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever received. Words have always been a form of expression for me. But what – or who – really is a writer?

I used to think that writers were people who had it all figured out. I mean, if they were able to so carefully articulate and format their thoughts to share with the world, they must be the experts. They must have it all figured out.

I couldn’t have been further from the truth. I think what I’m learning now is that being a writer isn’t about having it all perfectly put together. (If any of you were to check my drafts folder you would understand why). Ideas flow, thoughts go, one after another, 24/7. It’s kind of stressful in a way, to be driving down the highway for example and suddenly have that epiphany, light-bulb moment. That moment I’ve been waiting for months now to feel, and then suddenly it hits me while I’m driving 70 miles per hour with no opportunity to pull out a pen and piece of paper (because safety first right).

I talk out loud to myself a lot. And I tell myself – no – more like I yell at myself – “KELLY DO NOT FORGET THIS ONE.” And I hope and pray that the message that just so inspirationally came to me on the never-ending highway will stick with me. And many times they do. But then something else shows up, and another, and another, and another, until the thoughts are swarming, and my mind is racing, full of so much inspiration that then it sometimes feels like there is none.

I do not have it all figured out. I speak and share my story because I am the expert on my personal journey, but I am not even close to having it all figured out. And that is okay. So for now, I will continue to write, journal, and shout out loud my thoughts until those light bulb moments manifest onto paper. I know one day they will.