Writing Down the Bones

Natalie Goldberg, a writer, poet, and teacher describes so eloquently the intimacy of a writer and their craft in the introduction of “Writing Down the Bones”.

I can always spot a true writer when they emphasize the importance of choosing the right pen as Goldberg did in her short introduction. How your pen and paper meet is truly a magical experience and I believe that there is a perfect pen and paper out there for every writer. One that calls you to it every time you pick it up. I have had many friends give me many journals to encourage me in my writing and they have sat in my room collecting dust because they weren’t the right “fit” for me. Everything about it has to feel just right and say, “here you can be you”. I like when Goldberg described, “Learning to use your craft as your weapon” for I guess writing was mine once. When I was young it helped me get through my parents divorce. It seemed to be the only place I could turn to. I began, in those moments hovered over my journal, to grow to know myself better than I ever could have without it. I began to listen to the most distance of thoughts to better make sense of the chaos around me.  I connected with Goldberg’s phrase.. “Penetrating your life and becoming sane”. Writing caused me to go inside myself and find out what was wrong instead of reacting to emotions I hadn’t connected to yet. 

What I took away most from reading this article can be summed up in Goldberg’s quote, “Trust in what you love, continue to do it and it will take you wherever you need to go. And don't worry too much about security when you begin to do what you want” I love that. I feel too often people are frozen in their tracks as soon as they find something that is against the grain. People are not encouraged to pursue their dreams and are often told of what could go wrong and why not to do it. Not many people are encouraged to pursue their dreams. To reach for the stars and to not let anything stand against them.  

Well it is truly encouraging to hear from someone who didn’t let the world stop her. She pursued what she loved and I can now enjoy the thoughtful insight she gained in becoming a respected writer. 

i am holly 

  I am taking this writing course because I love to write and I want to learn how to be better at it. 

A little about me: 

I want to eat and breath and fall in love with the world in slow motion. Life was never meant to be rushed and your eyes were never meant to lose their wonder. 

I have a love for travel...  

It started in High School when I would travel back and forth to Mexico to work in an orphanage in Ensenada with my church. I have a love for children and am fascinated with the different ways people have of living life. When I finished high school I had no idea what to do next.  

I went to college because I thought thats what you were suppose to do but it wasn’t long until I decided that doing things because other people are doing them wasn’t a good enough reason. I took a break from school, I sold my furniture, I left my friends, my job, and everything I knew to find someone out there they call “Self”.It was Thailand that had called me first. There I discovered that there is a whole world out there that I wanted to be apart of as I road elephants and got ambushed by monkeys and finally felt what it meant to be free. I went to India next and then landed in Africa for the better half of a year. I knew a friend who was a principle at a school called City of Refuge, where they rescue orphans from the fishermen trade and provide them with a good education and a safe place to live. Since I had always wanted to be a teacher, teaching in this school sounded like the perfect fit for me. So I climbed the mountains, I embraced the bugs, I became one with the dirt, I laughed as the children laugh and I ate rice, rice and more rice. Teaching these little African children who have never seen a white woman before was not an easy task, mind you. They were either scared of the color of my skin or didn’t take me seriously. After the first week of teaching I questioned if I actually wanted to be a teacher, but I was committed to following out the term and so stuck it out. The day I finally got these children to walk in a straight line was truly a triumph! It was the day I discovered my deep passion for teaching and that I could be successful. My dream is to continue to travel the world and empower students to find in themselves the very change they so desire .There was a point in my teaching however, that I discovered that I still had a lot to learn, and I decided to come back to the States to continue my own education. But this time I am doing it for me. 

To the moments that make you feel Big