I Am Not a Writer

My name is Steven Schultz, and I am not a writer.

I mean, I have written things before, don’t get me wrong; I just wouldn’t consider myself a writer. I wish I was, but I don’t think I am. It’s just not really what I do, I guess.

I used to write a lot in high school; I’d write songs, specifically. I was in a couple of bands throughout those four awkward, relentlessly formative years, and I have to say, it was pretty therapeutic; the writing, that is. It gave me an avenue to push my creative mind and really let some of those trapped emotions loose. I got to sing my heart out at parties, showcases, bars and backyards, songs that I wrote with my best friends about the life that we were all living together.

And it was glorious.

I really did love it, but I fell out of practice with writing music and lyrics once I graduated high school and those couple of bands broke apart. Sure, I still played guitar and sang with new bands and new friends, but I wasn’t writing anymore. School got the best of me, and the only writing I was doing was for papers or projects, write-ups or summaries; it wasn’t how I remembered writing.

And I missed it.

So, I tried to reclaim it. Over the course of my freshman year of college, I had an on-and-off relationship with journaling. There are so many benefits to it, but I never maintained a consistent practice of it. Just this past year, during my sophomore year, I managed to take a step forward: I started taking notes pretty diligently every Sunday during our church’s worship gathering. I maintain that still to this day, but lately, I’ve wanted to do more. I want to sort through the thoughts in my head and the emotions in my heart, and I think the best way to do that is through crafting stories here.

And now we’re here.

I’d like to think of this blog as my “secret public journal,” as comedian Mike Birbiglia might say; a public place to share some of my secret thoughts that I would typically put in a journal. I don’t know how much I’ll share here, yet; I might keep some of it to myself, but we’ll see. Ultimately, though, I know that I am not writing these entries for myself, but whoever happens to stumble upon them. *Quick aside, check out Mike’s material, because he is hysterical and a phenomenal storyteller.

And now we’re back.

My hope is that whoever is reading this, and whoever continues to read this, finds a glimmer of humor, hope, and humility along the way. I am by no means an impressive person; I certainly do not think my thoughts and opinions deserve any special treatment. But I am a human being, and you are too. And in the words of one of my personal heroes, Jamie Tworkowski:

People need other people.

If you’re reading this now, this is for you.

My name is Steven Schultz, and I am not a writer.

But that won’t stop me from writing.