It's important to do things that you enjoy. It gives you a way to put the world aside and just be happy. There are some people who make art, some who play sports, volunteer, knit and so on. For me, it's writing.
I have always loved to write. My writing means a lot to me. It means so much to me that I wrote about what writing means to me for my very first article for Odyssey.
When I write, I get to escape to a whole new world full of people and places that I have created. I get to put a little bit of myself in there. I can hide my feelings by giving them to someone else. It can be hard to explain the idea of writing and how it works for me because there are times when I can't begin to explain it to myself.
However, for a while now, I haven't been writing. In late 2014, I was diagnosed with cancer. Many things changed in my life after that. Unfortunately, my writing took the biggest hit. I didn't have the energy, and I didn't have the attention span. It just wasn't going to happen.
It was hard. I had many of my readers reaching out, asking when I would update. I felt bad when I answered that I genuinely had no idea.
It was weird for me. I watched my books get added to reading lists less and less, and I could tell my profile was just on standby.
In late 2015, I was told I was in remission. I was able to finally get my life back. My writing didn't pick back up, though. My brain felt fried, and I couldn't focus enough to read back through my stories to see where I was going with them. So, everything continued to sit. I continued to feel empty in a certain way.
Things got a little bit better when I joined Odyssey. It was a different kind of writing, but it was writing. I was excited and happy. I got to write about all these different topics and reach new people. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
Recently though, I've opened up my Google docs and clicked on a couple of my stories. I've read through some and written down a couple of ideas. Honestly, it was a tad scary at first. For so long, that part of me was lost and unable to work. As strange as it sounds, it was almost like rediscovering a part of myself. I had to get my brain working again and find some type of rhythm.
Since finding that rhythm, though, I've started to become happier. I have my one special thing, my escape. I believe it's important for everyone to have something like that — something that makes them happy and want to keep hold of it.
The world around you can get crazy sometimes. Don't be afraid to take some time for yourself. #TreatYourself, right?
Getting back into what I love was the best decision I could've made for myself. I believe you should do what you love, especially if it has been a while. Be happy.