I was in 5th grade when I visited the local hot spot with a good friend, and by local hot spot, I mean my local hot spot, and by my local hot spot, I mean... the library. It was my favorite place to go after school. I have always been a book fiend, but it was more than that. I could walk there with friends and have freedom from my parents at a very young age. It was a place where I felt welcome, like I belonged. I could get lost among the bookshelves and feel completely at home. On this particular day I was with a friend I didn't typically spend a whole lot of time with. Her sister came to pick her up and walked with us through the library. I remember looking up at her and not knowing at all what came over me I said, "I wrote all these books." She looked at me like the awkward, odd girl I was and indulged me saying, "which books?" "All of them. I wrote them all." I responded. In my brain all I kept thinking was, "shut up! what are you doing? You sound like a fool. Obviously she knows you're lying." but I couldn't stop myself, I even elaborated, "I wrote all the ones down this aisle, and this aisle," on and on I went. I spent 40+ years denying what I was attempting to express that day. I am a writer. I have always wanted to be a writer yet the first time I actually allowed myself to write was during My Year of Hugs when I began blogging at 36 years old. Do I wish I had written more sooner? Sure. Do I wish I had experimented with writing journal entries, magazine articles, short stories, and other things that could have been published? Absolutely. But, I didn't. Perhaps that's why when I struggle to write this memoir rather than feeling frustrated to the point of giving up, I feel a surge of energy and pride in knowing that I won't give up. I am finally living out my childhood dream. I will not stop until my books are on the very shelves of that library I called home.
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AuthorMelinda Lee is a mom of two adolescent boys, a devout student of all things spiritual, a recovering perfectionist, and immensely fascinated with achieving the unachievable. Currently writing a memoir about hugging strangers. Archives
February 2023
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