Prompt: After doing the reading in Bird By Bird, take a look at your notes. What
concrete things did you appreciate in the reading? What sticks with you? What resonates?

One of the very first things that stuck out to me during the reading was actually found on page 3. “Writing is about telling the truth”, essentially, writing allows us to understand who we are. I appreciated this because, like most people do, I had a hard time figuring out who I was. Heck, I still feel like sometimes I don’t understand myself. Yet, something clicks when I write. I feel like the words that I write are true and honest, even if it takes a while to get to there. This brings me to the second thing that stuck with me. Throughout the chapter, there was one question that loomed over everything. If writing is something that is so personal and true and honest, then why is it so hard? While there might not be a real concrete answer, the one Lamott gives is that the world is against writers. Whether it’s time, circumstance, distractions, or the exploding political landscape, there is always something that should keep writers from writing. Sometimes, these things succeed, but other times, as Lamott states, we “clear a space for the writing voice”. One of the greatest things I’ve learned over this past year is that writing takes persistence and faith, two things that are embedded in this chapter. Specifically, on page 9, Lamott writes that “You are learning what you aren’t writing and this is helping you find out what you are writing”. Writing is trial and error and trial and error and a little bit of tears and some coffee and then ending with three words on a mostly blank page. But, three words is more than you had. Persistence. The poem by Philip Lopate is featured on page 11. The overall message, at least to me, is that your demons are your closest friends and the moments of frustration and jubilation when it comes to life can be used in your writing. The last thing, and probably the biggest thing that resonated with me, was the question of why. Why am I writing? I had to stop and really think about it. Being published and successful sound fun and amazing and I definitely strive for that, yet I know that that isn’t the reason. I think I write for myself and to create worlds, characters, and stories that connect people even in the darkest of times. In a way, I think I write to create a legacy for myself, something that I can be proud of. Though, the reasons may change, I think the most important reason that I write is because it makes me happy and it feels right.