By Ronja Iding
There are three things in life I can’t live without: people, movies, and writing. Apart from food and water it is these three things that are essential to living a fulfilling life. Establishing human relationships and talking to people are important to me for two reasons: I hate feeling lonely, and people inspire me. Movies inspire me as well. They introduce me to amazing characters and stories, and they show me where I want to go in life. They teach me how to figure out who I want to be as a writer.
For me, life is all about inspiration. I watch movies and I read books. I listen to music, and I create stories in my mind. In a way, I need people and movies to be capable of pursuing my passion: WRITING.
Writing fulfills me. It’s my personal therapy. Through writing I can process my emotions. I am myself on paper, and I understand myself better through writing. Sometimes it is easier to write than to speak. It feels right to share feelings and thoughts on a piece of paper. It feels honest to use paper for writing, keeping it old-school. I often use a typewriter for the same reason. And I need to let out my thoughts, otherwise my head would explode.
I write because I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t write. I write because I have to. I believe that every human being was brought to this world to do something specific, and I always felt like this was my way in life. The adrenaline I feel pumping through my veins when I write, more adrenaline than I ever felt on a rollercoaster, is what keeps me alive. I am addicted to the way writing makes me feel.
Ever since I started school, I always knew that I would be a writer. I distinctively remember writing my first ever essay in first grade and immediately falling in love with the way building sentences activated my imagination. My grandma wanted to be a writer and so did my mom. So, I think God thought it was time that someone in my family took their shot. I believe in fate. And it is my fate to write.
I spent an insane amount of my childhood sitting in our small bathroom without windows. The lights were off, the door was locked, I put on music, and I made sure all the drains were closed. Once I did all that I just sat on the floor and listened to my thoughts. I imagined different worlds and new stories. Whether I was entering a magical fantasy story or creating characters that would later come to life in more realistic settings, I just enjoyed creating stories. It worked because I couldn’t see or get distracted by anything. I remember when I used to do that it felt like I was entering a world of my own.
I was always interested in figuring things out. Like I watched TV shows and stopped to write everything down to figure out how an episode would end. Continuing only once I was sure that I was right. And I often was. The times I wasn’t, I still thought my ending would have been better. Whenever I read or watched a story I liked, I made it my own. I never did anything without thinking about how I could use it in a story later.
There are certain kinds of stories I love and movies I watch. I look for stories that include sports, strong friendships, a team, sibling relationships, a common goal, and strong characters. I also explore stories that lie outside of that definition but normally they don’t end up on my list of movies I can watch every day for the rest of my life. One day, I will write stories that apply to my definition of a perfect one.
There are a few movies I have probably seen over 100 times; There’s The Mighty Ducks’ series,the Step Up series, the Harry Potter series, The Outsiders, Die wilden Kerle, the Narnia series, Grown Ups, IT, Stand By Me, Miracle. I know all of them by heart, I can say the lines along with the actors and I still never get sick of them. I watch one of these movies each day. They always make me feel like the world is okay.
When I started writing this essay there was one specific quote that popped into my mind. It’s from the Step Up series. My favorite character Moose says it. And I thought of it because it somehow explains why I write, at least partly: I dance because dance can change things. One move can set a whole generation free. One move can make you believe like you’re something more.
It’s the same with words and books. Words can change things; they are extremely powerful. And the stories presented in books can change people’s lives. Stories in books and movies ARE my life. And I wouldn’t change that for the world. I love that my life consists of stories. I love exploring stories and I love creating stories. And if there is one thing I know, it is that I will do this for the rest of my life. What’s the point of living if you don’t get to write?
It is crazy to think that I will become a writer at some point in time. It seems surreal. And I don’t expect to make a lot of money from writing. But I know I will be happy as long as I get to write. If there is one thing I know, it’s this.