Sometimes it seems that the only thing I know how to do is tell a story. When I’m bored at work, I watch customers going about their business, and I make up stories about what their lives might be like. I imagine their pasts, design their futures. Where did they come from? Where are they going? Ever since I was young, I’ve loved to create stories. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I wanted to be a writer. Nothing has ever seemed more natural to me.  Now, I write all the time – to relieve stress, to stay stimulated, and most of all just to tell the stories that I need to tell.

Writing as stress relief or distraction from anxiety is a common practice for me. Much like when I’m reading, when I write I can get totally immersed in a story and forget what’s going on in the world around me. Sometimes I write directly about my concerns, just to get them out of my system, but more often I simply involve myself in whichever story has been most prominent in my mind. I might write random scenes about my favourite characters, I might work out plot plans and timelines for bigger projects, or I might just dive into a work in progress and carry on with a story. The important thing is that writing helps me forget about anything that’s been stressing me out or causing me to worry.

Writing is also great for keeping my mind stimulated when I’ve been bored. Whenever I’ve had too little to engage my brain, I can always clear out the dust by sitting down with a pencil or a blank Word document and starting to write. Often in these cases I’ll just jot down random bits of narration that have been running through my head, characters or scenes with no homes, stray thoughts that have been on my mind. Writing all the time also lets me vent creative urges – thus keeping me not only stimulated, but also generally happier. When I haven’t had any time to write, I get bored and restless. Writing can take as much or as little time as I want, while still being a great way to stay entertained.

More than anything else, though, I write to tell my stories. Since I was young, I’ve always had a plethora of characters running amok in my mind, each with their own adventures to be had. When I was really little, these characters and their stories manifested in the games I played with my friends or the personas I gave to my toys. As I began to grow older, teachers in school encouraged us to write stories, and suddenly I found that I was able to give my characters a whole new dimension of depth. As someone who’d always loved to read, it was incredible for me to learn that I could do with my own ideas what my favourite authors did all the time. Now, my stories are as real and precious to me as the real world, and there’s nothing that would make me happier than being able to share them with everyone.

In the end, whether it’s stress relief, mental stimulation, or just for the sheer joy of it, writing is one of the most important things I do with my life. I can’t imagine ever stopping – I don’t think I could live without it. With any luck, I’ll be able to spend my life telling stories. Writing is perhaps my most immense passion, and I am grateful every day to have it.