that time I made a grown man cry
I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Probably because I’m a reader. And reader is the only actual qualification I’m willing to give myself. Some people are artists or musicians or bakers or runners. My thing? I sit on my couch and put my eyes on something that someone else created. It is my thing, though, and I do it better than (read also as: at a higher quantity than) most. They say the best way to become a writer is to become a reader (“Who says this?” you ask. You know...They.). Well it’s also, apparently, the best way to want to become a writer. I guess it’s the equivalent of listening to the radio and wanting to be a rock star or watching an NFL game and wanting to be a professional athlete. So when my friend (let’s call him), Steve, asked me if I would be willing to write a piece on foster care for a future church newsletter, I jumped on it. When I say jumped on it, of course, I mean acted like “sure no big deal” then went home, had a panic attack, spent hours writing a few hundred words, then almost passed out from loss of oxygen as I hit the “send” button.
Nothing is scarier to me than someone reading my words. Let me rephrase that. Nothing is scarier to me than someone reading my words and not liking them.
Steve (for the record, yes, his name is actually Steve) did like them. He really liked them. In fact, I think the word “tears” was included in his evaluation of them. Steve showed them to Joe (okay, Joe is his actual name). Joe really liked them. Joe also referenced some sort of crying action...I believe the term was “choked up.”
The only reason this blog exists is because Steve and Joe referenced said crying actions after reading my words. The. only. reason. (Read "The Journey Into Foster Care" to experience the emotional roller coaster I took Steve and Joe on for yourself - *cue moan, eye roll, gag, and ultimate disappointment*)
The great thing about a blog is that it is, by far, the least threatening way to start writing. You need zero qualifications, you need zero people to get behind what you’re doing (who needs editors and publishers? I’ve got Steve and Joe!). You just start doing it.
So here I am getting ready to press the “send” button on my first blog post. I don’t dare presume to adopt the title “writer”, but maybe next to those little letters in my name (Jamie C., Reader), I’ll try on the new title of “blogger.”
