Hi, Everyone!
A lot of you noticed that I’ve been blogging more often and so I wanted to share a little bit about why I decided to start the blog and why it keeps me coming back.
Reading and writing were part of my life since before I can remember. Zach asked me the other day whether or not there was a time I could remember not reading, and truthfully, there isn’t.
My Mom loves to tell me that she read to me when I was in her womb. This was a special time for her to bond with the baby inside her she had never met, so she read to me daily.
And that process continued after I was born. I became a voracious reader — constantly on the search for any book I could get my hands on. The first novel that ever really captivated me was Cat Walk, and then I remember falling in love with Ella Enchanted.
A turning point in my so-called reading career was in third grade when I first read Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl.
Her daily musings in her diary that she endearingly called Kitty inspired me to turn my love of reading into writing. Shortly after finishing the book, I started to write a short, 30-page fictional novel on a girl who still had hopes and dreams in spite of living during the Holocaust. I only remember the opening line: “Her father said that it was okay to dream, but that they had to face the truth.” The main protagonist’s name was Eliza.
Although my short novel was never published, reading Anne’s diary reminded me of the importance of recording history — even if it was about the mundane. So I started my own daily habit of journaling, too. Looking back, I think few books have had as great or long-lasting an impact in my life as Anne Frank’s diary.
My Mom probably has a dozen or more journals from my childhood kept in a hope chest. And as I grew older, those diaries turned into prayer journals — a habit I continue today.
My parent’s deep desire to instill in me a love for reading and writing didn’t stop there. They also encouraged me to use my imagination, and, as an only child, to play by myself.
Hence why journaling, creative writing, and even poetry were features of my childhood.
I started this blog to diversify my writing and keep me on my toes. My day job keeps me writing a lot. On Asia, U.S. foreign policy, and a variety of human rights issues. Short pieces, long pieces, and everything in between. I love it! But it’s all policy writing and I never want to lose my creativity.
Most importantly, I never want to lose my ability to switch between writing styles, to use my imagination, and to not be afraid to write on subjects that fall outside of my day job’s wheelhouse.
What gets you writing — and more importantly, what *keeps* you writing?
Cheers loves,
Liv
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. ~ Isaiah 40:26
Liv in the District 