An Assertion

The pen, states the popular adage in the 1800s, is mightier than a sword. We can hardly count the number of people who started wars, mended relationships, acquired properties and changed the world through writing. In the words of American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, writing is a political instrument, a way to describe and control your circumstances.

The reason why I write, however, is a matter of passion, a thrill in seeking for my purpose. This became known to me when I was younger-that my God-given purpose was to write. Despite my adviser in highschool journalism opening my awareness to the fact that there is not much money in writing, passion boils like an acid burning on a metal surface. And when ideas start to mushroom in my head, it is probably time to de-clutter.

I move my bowels into the toilet bowl. I think it is fitting that i expel my ideas into writing. My journalism adviser may have been right, passionate writers don't really get much out of writing, except maybe when one sells out and writes for publicity. To date, I am far from selling out. I choose to chase after my purpose not money, and I let money chase me as I choose not to chase after it.

Apparently, when the pen kisses the surface of a paper and moves into the direction to form words, communication happens and it is irreversible. There's no turning back, and if there were, the bible would not have been written, the civil rights, Ann Frank's diary, Plato's The Republic and countless other books that changed the world, would have never been published.

Such writings might have met oppositions and criticisms, but it is undeniable that they shaped cultures, realities and imaginations. Writing is such a powerful and wonderful vocation in changing the world.

And I want to change the world.

I am a writer and my pen is my weapon of choice. I can set and affect change. I am a writer and my idiosyncrasies may manifest, but through which I can be effective. I am a writer, and writing is more than a hobby but a responsibility.