I don't want to do number 10 right now...

I believe that some things happen only for the reason of being written down. What happens after that, who knows, but as long as the words are on a paper, something can happen. I wish I could say I always act on those impulses - that whenever I see a perfect leaf, I stop to write about the lines and patterns that stole my attention. But more often than not, I don't. Today, I thought about all that I have left unwritten. Everything I could've made permanent, but instead is clouded or forgotten. Sightings, occurrences, people, passions. Things are always happening. Just today, I probably had more than a hundred things happen! But that's just it. Even now, I can't think of a word to replace "things." What happened to me today? Stuff. Things. It's a sad way to look at life, but usually that's what I do. But you know, even if my experiences are typical or my days are relatively uniform, they are still my experiences, and my days. And that makes them important. I believe it's true for everyone else, so why can't it be true for myself as well? I love listening to short stories and reading essays. Last year, NPR became one of my very best friends. I believe that much can be discovered by taking the time to read what someone somewhere thought was important enough to write about. Because of what others have written, I have learned that stealing bikes is cruel, that love should be written in letters, that my earth deserves to be treated well, that competence in any form is admirable, and that I should always go to the funeral, to name a few. Do I have any idea who I learned these lessons from? Not a clue. But a small part of me has changed because of what they wrote. And that's what writing is about. I guess you could even say that's what life is about.

And now a thank you to this lovely lady whose writings have a very special place in my heart.

Mary Stolz