500

I guess all my life I've been a sponge. I used to refer to myself as a diary ot a tissue. People tell me their problems or use me to clean their mess then throw it away. I think there are maybe a dozen people in my life who know me very well, well to the point where they'd win money if we went on a game show together or I'd call them when was going through things. There are the observational things, the bits of me people gather from watching me, but those only get you so far. You can't tell my favorite color by looking at me since I almost always wear blue nor can you tell that I only watch the dramatic sappy shows and movies to stay up late because I always worry that something bad will happen if I go to sleep too early nor can you tell that I work a lot because I don't like to be idle since it's apparently hereditary to just not want to sit still and do nothing.

My writing doesn't exactly scream all of these things either. Writing was just an outlet from the time I was just another statistic sitting in a first grade class, itching for two o'clock when I could go to the second grade class for an hour and finally a challenge. It went from being just something I had to do to get teh strawberry-scented stickers from my grandmother in a notebook to something I would love to build my whole career and life around. I love getting lost in something, being able to tell someone else's story, leaving my body and my problems and focusing on someone else's. Whether it was a prostitute or a dog or a police officer or a fetus, I loved finding a way to give a voice to those that are often ignored or overlooked or painted in one way.

At first glance, people probably wouldn't expect me to be this way. They see my skin color and their minds run to Tyler Perry movies and rap music. They see my boobs and assume I rant about dismantling the patriarchy and had a Hillary 2016 sticker on during her whole campaign. They see a lot of who they think I am, but only someone who truly tried to read my work gets to know who I am. They see the vulnerability, the uniqueness, the perfection to detail and tend to like me instantly. They like the person that is behind the assumptions and misconceptions and the politically correct bullshit that is suffocating today's world. Which is why, four years and over 500 posts in, I still always love the "why do you write" challenges. It opens a door or a window or a mouse hole to make a new friend, annoy someone with my lengthy, ultra specific writing or let another person see a sprinkle of who I am and enjoy the tart sweetness of a speck of who I am. Thanks for the challenge.