Why I Write

Today in my Memory & Memoir class, we read "Why I Write" by Terry Tempest Williams, and we were asked to write our own version. I really have never considered myself a writer, but I've been pushed a lot this semester to find my inner writer and find a way to comfortably express myself through writing.

We were asked to write our own version of "Why I Write" that would be related to the writing of our Memoir that is due in a couple of weeks. This poem that came out of me in a way I never expected. It was extremely enlightening and freeing to write in such a way. It describes the reason I am writing this blog, the reason I need to have this one little thing for myself.

Why I write my memoir
April 7, 2008

I write my memoir
Because I want to remember
Because I never want to forget
Because I want to see how I am the way I am
To understand
To see the way one child can create such an event that another child’s life will be changed forever
To know why I do what I do
To see the truth
To encourage myself to go on
To show myself that I am doing the right thing
To see my past within my future
To reminisce
To smile
To love
To remember
Because forgetting does happen
Because I love those two significant children
Because I need to connect my past to my future
Because I do have a purpose
Because I want to be proactive
To help myself remember
To help myself continue on the path I have created
Because I am special
Because I am unique
Because I do have a purpose
Because someone touched my life
Because only I know
Because it is my story
Because it is an explanation
Because it is the way I am
Because I am the way I am
Because I am my own storyteller
To show why this is so important to me
For autism
For Jake
For Syd
For Luke
For Ryan
For Spencer
For MAP
For me
I write my memoir for myself
I write my memoir not just for this class but also for this life—for this lifetime