In a million tiny ways, my writing has been validated. The messages are difficult to list and, sometimes, even more difficult to remember. After all, that one time that so-and-so said that my essay didn’t need editing isn’t really a clear message.
So, suffice it to say, the positive messages I have received about writing have never been parades or positive Amazon.com reviews, though I hold out hope. Instead, they’ve been the small things, the times when I’ve checked online only to see a comment from someone who I didn’t have to bribe first, or gotten a paper back with a compliment scribbled in the margins.
One of the biggest positive moments happened when I was very early. My mother put my in the Christmas family newsletter. “Katelyn,” she said, “is continually attempting to write the next great American novel.” When I found that, I read it several times, over and over. I suppose it stuck with me even still. My parents, especially my mother, believe that I can handle it, can write something truly brilliant.
Another moment, albeit one that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth comes from another adult that I used to revere. This person, a teacher with too much influence over my thoughts and likes, once gushed about a paper that I wrote for her. She said it made her cry. She said it in front of the whole class! I may have levitated from my seat for a moment. Since then, times have changed. I no longer care for this person or her opinion, but the compliment still rings true. I made her cry. Something I wrote was that good.
Those are some of the most prevalent positive writing moments that I have experienced. Thinking back on them never fails to bring a smile to my face, even here at B&N with the hillbilly bride behind me gushing over rhinestones. Ah… inspiration….
