From a Simple Song to a Symphony

A writer’s journey is a song that doesn’t end

I thought this would be an easy piece when Kern Carter invited me to reflect on my journey as a writer. But every time I think it is finished, I immediately stumble on another inspiring article here in CRY Magazine or awaken to another part of my journey. Perhaps it is like that never-ending children’s song:

I hope my journey as a writer is more interesting and less repetitive. My goal is to at least add some harmony, layers, or modulate to a different style every now and then. Maybe underneath it all is a constant musical theme being played out in new ways. A symphony in progress.

My mother tells me I was born with a pen in my hand. I don’t remember my childhood the same way, but of all the memories, that’s the one I hold onto. I guess it was hard to identify as a writer in my childhood when writing was more synonymous with penmanship than self-expression. However, the most positive memories of my schooling involved putting an idea on paper.

I was blessed to have an English teacher who used green pen to offer edits on our writing. Through her encouragement I got to experience the joys of finding my own voice while striving to refine my work. My favourite subject at school was actually music, although my talents ultimately lay more in the realm of words. At the time, I didn’t see the parallels between the two.

The transition from writing as an academic task to writing for love is an important rite of passage. It happened at age sixteen when I was inspired by a friend to buy my first journal and started to write poetry. I didn’t exactly know what to write, but it felt liberating to write something for no other eyes than my own.

For many years my journal was my therapist. Notebook upon notebook kept my deepest questions and most troublesome fears. My approach was largely uninhibited…

Related posts:

In my first days as a developer, I hated code documentation with every cell of my body. I still recall that period as one of the worst job experiences in my life. We started developing some simple…