Friday, the 29th of August, 2019. I remember that day like it was yesterday. The day I picked up my pen and my tiny notebook and started scribbling down my thoughts without pausing to think. Because if I thought about it, I’d stop. One of my biggest problems is that I think too much about everything, anything, before I do it or even attempt to try. I had had previous ideas and daydreams about wanting to write but, as always, I ended up not acting on them because I’d think too much about it and everything that could go wrong. But that day, I wrote, and it wasn’t particularly easy nor difficult; I just allowed myself to write whatever that came to mind. I remember the desperation I felt to do something different, to try something completely new, without thinking of consequences or failure or obstacles. I also remember how that desperation and enthusiasm translated into words on paper and birthed my first short story, Entitled, and many others to follow later. And from there, my journey as a writer began.

Whew, a year does come by so fast, doesn’t it?

Today, I feel very grateful to myself, for allowing myself to believe in me, and thus, to have come this far. I’ve been high on certain days, when everything seems to be going so fine and my sentences make sense when I read them. In the same way, I’ve been low on other days; the days that I just can’t bring myself to put together anything meaningful and my own words feel bland and strange staring at me like a strange language I can’t decipher. I’ve lost competitions, but I’ve also won some. But most importantly, I’ve had my patience, courage, determination, and the zeal to succeed tested, one too many times. And I believe that I’ve won many battles too; the one against laziness, discouragement, giving up, etc. And that is why I’m here now. That is also why I can celebrate this milestone, which although isn’t much compared to others, means so much to me as an individual. So thank you me. I’m proud of me. I hope to be always.

And then to you, my loving readers, this day cannot be memorable to me without you. You are the reason I can celebrate this milestone. Because when I write, you read. And not only do you read, you share, and encourage me with your loving, kind words, that make me feel very important and special. You’re like family to me. In fact, you’re family. Because you raise me up and lift my spirit anytime you give me that one compliment that forces me to get out of bed and want to write another sentence. You make me feel heard, seen, needed. You guys are the best things that could happen to anyone. That’s why I cherish you a lot, and I intend to celebrate with you and allow you to share in my joy. If it’s one year of me writing, it is equally one year of you reading from me nonstop. So thank you and congratulations for being my comrades on this journey. If you have ever thrown a word of inspiration, encouragement or criticism my way, know that I appreciate you. I appreciate your concern for my craft and for my growth. If you’ve ever read, shared, commented, proofread, mentored or taught me anything, I’m thankful to you. Know that I continue to write because I know that you will read.

So today is not my but our writing anniversary…Yaayy! Cheers to us and many more years to come. Although, I’m excited for what is ahead, the one I know nothing about or how it will turn out, I’m more than thankful for the journey so far. However, I trust that it’s going to be fine because when I started this time last year, I did not know this year. But here I am. Still strong and going, more determined than ever.

Hence, I’d like to encourage anybody or everybody with a dream or something on their hearts they sleep and wake up thinking about, that the goal is to just start! Begin. You don’t need to know how it’ll go because you can’t see the future. But you can see now—the present. And you know you want to do whatever it is that’s on your heart so bad. So why not just start! Maybe you will fail, or maybe you will learn. And everyday you would be a step closer to perfection. So I am going to leave you with this quote from my friend and writer Sugar’s blog. Anytime I see it, it leaves a smile on my face and I hope it does same to you. It says, ‘You can’t edit a blank page but you can always edit a badly written one’. So again, just start. You can do it too.

I love you all. Keeping trying. Keep moving. Keep winning. And keep losing too. Yes, keep losing till you win.

Happy writversary to me, to us. 🎉🎉💃💃💃😩😘✌🏾✌🏾

Thank you so much for reading once again. To know more about my writing journey and how I started, click to read my previous post on it called The Beginning of Great Things.

Till next time, keep safe.

Love❤️

Liz.