I have a motto. It goes like this...

"I write like no one is reading. Because it's much more freeing that way!"

That motto is just as true today as it was 5 years ago when I started blogging. I never really expected anyone to read what I wrote, nor did I care if they did, or didn’t. I just assumed that I would fly under the radar and my blog would be among the billions of others that are lost in cyberspace. For the first few years my voice remained anonymous and my identity unknown. I blogged for just one reason - because I enjoyed writing and felt I had something worth being said, even if it was only for an audience of one. Then somewhere along the way I discovered that writing was more than a creative outlet for me. It was also therapeutic to me. Writing gave me the ability to express the things in my everyday life that are often too difficult for me to verbalize. So in a way, this blog has been a gift to me. However, I never thought that others would see it as a gift to them. That was my mindset until I received this letter. It was signed "Laura Love," a fictitious name behind powerful words.

Dear David,

As I sit here crying writing this email to you, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your words. Thank you for your blog. Thank you for the time and energy you put into it. I can't express how healing, how soothing, how inspirational your words have truly been for me in this very moment of my life. I seek nothing by writing this to you, but the simple expression of gratitude.

I hope it brightens your day, night...whenever you read it. My faith and hope has been slowly and shakily building as of late, and reading your words has given more shine to the world I navigate through. Thank you.

Laura Love

Immediately I thought she was referring to my post titled "My Deepest, Darkest Secret." It was about my attempted suicide when I was just 12-years-old. A story that I had NEVER shared with ANYONE, but yet felt brave enough to confess it in writing to THE WORLD! However, she wasn’t just referring to that post. She was referring to several other posts of mine, some which I forgot I had even written. That’s the beautiful thing about writing. We’re not just connecting our thoughts and emotions with words. We’re connecting with complete strangers with our words. It sounds so cliché, but if you touched just one person’s life, you’ve made a difference. It's letters like Laura's that let me know that my writing makes a difference in the lives of others, no matter how large or small that difference may be.

There are all kinds of writers/bloggers out there. Some write to teach. Some write to share. Some write for money. Some write for fame. Some write to up their social media cred. And then there are others that just write for themselves. Those that write because they simply enjoy the process. I enjoy the process.

Singer Anna Nalick once wrote:
If I get it all down on paper
It's no longer inside of me, threatening the life it belongs to
And I feel like I'm naked infront of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming outloud
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to

My point is this...write like no one is reading, because it’s much more freeing that way. Stand naked infront of a crowd and let your diary scream outloud. And remember how good it feels to finally breathe.