I am a writer....

Starting a Writing Challenge today:

Today's assignment: Declare myself a writer.

Well, I guess I have defined myself as a writer for years now. I know inside it is what I love and what I want to do with my time and creativity. But there was a moment that helped me define that in my heart. As a student at the New England Conservatory, I took several of their wonderful Liberal Arts classes and in one of them, we were asked to write a story. I gave it my best shot, but was so intimidated by my own voice that I could not read it out to the class, and asked a dear friend of mine to read it for me. I found myself regretting it, though. She was a fine reader, but no one knows your work like you do and there were so many places where I would have changed the inflection, where I knew the subtly of meaning that was so important. I should have read it.

When I got the story back, my teacher wrote five words that changed my life. Well, I should say, they changed the idea of my life. He wrote: "Naomi, you are a writer."

I have never, ever forgotten this small encouragement. He also encouraged me to do a double major at Tufts University so I could study with him there. But in my mind, I was still a "musician" and couldn't conceive otherwise. I so wish I had looked into it.

But yes, I will always consider myself a writer. It is how I best express myself, how I look at the world, how the world communicates itself to me, through words that paint a picture.

Perhaps it is the approach of 45, but this year, my writing has meant more to me than ever. That, and a funny little story that has taken hold of my heart and won't let go. More on that later.

Write on, friends!