Writing has been my form of “therapy” since I discovered the power of words in my 10th Grade English class. Something about putting words to paper allows the stress and angst of the day to shed itself effortlessly. In college I wrote papers upon papers (being an English Education Major), took breaks from my papers to do my own writings and then returned to my research papers with vigor and focus. My academic writing improved as my personal writing vault grew- the reinforcement of tone and attitude permeated thru my written works as I honed myself on paper.

Little did I know then that time allowed me to be such a perfectionist at my work. My only responsibility was writing. After Grad School the luxury of that time faded away and the standard 9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. robbed me of my energies, compounded my stress and presented therapy in the forms of happy hour, Broadway shows, weekend binges and mini getaways.

The mental drain of the day hasn’t allowed me to put coherent words to paper and the longer I went without writing, the easier it became not to.

Writing is a core characteristic trait of mine and I’m returning to it by consciously making the time, just as I would make time to eat, sleep and exercise.