I'll Write My Way Out

"Running on empty, 
There was nothing left in me
But doubt.
I picked up a pen
And wrote my way out."

From Hamilton Mixtape by Lin-Manuel Miranda

I'm obsessed with the Tony-Award-winning musical Hamilton. The obsession makes my family want to evict me at times, but I can't shake it. I first witnessed a performance of the opening number "Alexander Hamilton" on the 2016 Grammys and fell in love with it. It sparked something in me because it was different. It was refreshing and exciting, and it made me wish I was a history teacher so I could use it to teach students about how our nation came to be. 

I do not remember studying Alexander Hamilton in school, although I'm sure he was mentioned at some point, so his story was totally new to me. What fascinates me most about him is that his legacy was built mainly through his writing. His ability with words inspired community businessmen to raise money to send him to New York for an education. His ability with words got him into the inner circle of George Washington. His ability with words not only helped with the writing of the Constitution but helped convince the American people that a Constitution was needed. Hamilton's words transformed him from an impoverished orphan in the British West Indies to a founding father of the incredibly powerful nation we call the United States of America. Wow!

{Words heal and reveal me}

The written word is an important part of my life, not only because I'm an English teacher, but because words heal and reveal me. During the worst periods of my life, I wrote. My words were not meant to inspire others or to elevate the English language; they were meant simply to get me through. I was writing my way out. My way out of the sadness, hopelessness, loneliness, or fearfulness I was feeling. Putting those thoughts and emotions in words seemed to help me really feel them and to see why I was feeling them...and how it was possible to rise above them.

Praise Jesus that I am not in one of those periods of life right now. (*Knock on wood and lift my hands toward Heaven in hallelujahs*) During the periods of life when I am happy and content, I tend not to write nearly as much. This blog is my first effort in changing that. I am happy. I am blessed. I am content. But there is plenty still to reveal about myself during these times. And even plenty to heal.

{I still need to write myself out of self-doubt, frustration, complacency, and failure}

So I say ALL of that to say...My blog is going to take a new path for a while. I am going to seek to reveal and to heal myself where I am now. In this place of happiness and joy, I still need to write myself out of self-doubt, frustration, complacency, and failure, to name a few. Write yourself out with me, will you? You'll be surprised how words can transform you if you will just put pen to paper (or fingers to keys, in my case).

Challenge extended.