Why tragedy fuels our writing

 

Writing is a solid form of therapy for any one who has been through something painful in their life. Whether it be a break up, death of a loved one, or abuse writing can help us face those issues and over come them. You don't have to be an Ernest Hemingway or J.K Rowling to use writing as a therapeutic measure, you just have to be willing to write.

 

 

 

"Momma"

 

This is a poem I wrote as a young child. As you can see it isn't the best poem, and it won't be winning me any Pulitzer prizes. However, it served its purpose. It allowed me to express my anger toward my mother through art and thus allowed me to move past that anger. My mother was a drug addict my entire life and for a long time I hated her. Maybe a part of me still does... However, I'm not blinded by those feelings of anger and hatred any longer because I express them through my writing. Without writing I don't think I'd be alive today. I went through a lot of terrible things as a child, things that were almost impossible to face as a young adult. With poetry I was able to lay out my feelings on paper so they weren't clouding my judgment. Eventually my poetry got better and those feelings became art.

 

 

 

 

Now I don't think this one will win me a Pulitzer prize either however I do feel that it's a lot better. I thought of my mother and how when she was high she was sporadic and sloppy then she would start coming down and be almost comatose. There were moments during her fall where you could see a shadow of what she used to be. A young pitiful girl with a bright future but a haunted mind. She was beautiful in the same way a tornado might be, you knew it was destructive but you didn't dare look away. I was able to realize recently that I love my mother in a strange way. Without writing I don't think I ever would have been able to come to that conclusion.

 

So I guess what I'm trying to get at is that you should write. Write in a daily journal, write poetry, write blurbs, write songs....just write. I don't care if you don't have a big vocabulary or you aren't a creative person writing isn't hard if you're writing what you feel. I promise it will help you get through whatever ails your heart or mind. And if it doesn't then you can call me and scream your problems to me.

 

 

-Maggie V.