When I First Felt Like a Writer

Well, there were actually two times…

I was in college, waiting for a class to start. I overheard two fellow students seated in front of me, debating the topic of an article I’d written for the school newspaper, unaware that the author was sitting just behind them.

Many years after that, I had a personal essay published in the in-flight magazine of a large airline. In the weeks to follow, the editor forwarded many emails they’d received from readers who praised the piece and described how it had touched them personally. One reader even looked me up on LinkedIn and messaged me directly; he said he was normally very analytical and reserved but the piece had moved him to tears. He wanted to know who had done that.

Both times were climactic; I saw how creative work, crafted in quiet solitude, has the power to stir emotion and inspire others to react, and that its strength grows according to the reach of the medium and size of the audience.