I’m a 20-something Upstate New Yorker trying to figure out where I fit in the world. I’ve been relatively content with the status quo for a while, but I suppose that has changed. Over the course of the last year or so, I’ve felt a growing desire to do something more, something bigger, something that feels like something to me.
For a little personal history, I have loved reading ever since I was old enough to do so. Mercer Mayer, Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, and Shel Silverstein were some of my early favorite authors, followed as I got older by Roald Dahl, Beverly Cleary, Gail Carson Levine, and William Sleator. I enjoyed many a book series—The Jewel Kingdom series by Jahnna N. Malcolm, the Help! I’m Trapped series by Todd Strasser, the Heartland series by Lauren Brooke (during the horse phase every girl has), and all of those nifty Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books come to mind. My all-time favorite book series has always been The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read all of those books, but it’s… a lot.
At present, my favorite author is Stephen King; I’ve been devouring as many of his books as I can and have yet to read one I don’t like. I’m a huge fan of fantasy, paranormal/horror, and science fiction genres, but I’ll read anything that seems interesting—and I will certainly never pass up a good ol’ Nicholas Sparks romance.
It’s not a long or surprising jump from reader to writer—I’d say the two go hand in hand because once the mind has absorbed so many ideas and characters and worlds, it’s only a matter of time before it starts wanting to exercise itself. Right now my mind is like a gym bro loaded with pre-workout, holding onto a gallon jug and gazing longingly at the free weights.
I find that I can express myself best through writing. I have used journaling as an outlet and a means to process existence/emotions throughout my whole life (I still have records of the absolute drama that went on when I was 6), and when I need to communicate something serious to someone, my preference is to write letters. I often get tongue-tied, nervous, or can’t think of how to phrase things when I’m speaking, but when I can take the time to properly write something out, I have found (and been told) that I’m capable of conveying exactly what I intend to.
I’ve always wanted to write a book, and I made quite a few cringey attempts when I was young, but I had a tendency to just give up once I got started. Since then, I have stuck primarily to what I know: anecdotal blog-style writing, AKA Journaling For The Internet. Now I have reached the point where I want to work on broadening my horizons.
Recently I started toying with the idea of actually BEING a writer and not just dreaming about it. It’s something I don’t mind working hard at, and something that makes me feel extremely satisfied and accomplished. So why not?
I had no answer to that question.
Which brings us here, to the place in time where I have created my own website and my own “brand” and a sense of responsibility to consistently write stuff. Seems like now it’s time to find out if I’m any good, eh?
Meg Decker 