Logophile.
By dictionary definition this word means “a lover of words.” In my mind, logophile incomparably and without a doubt is the definition of me. Of all the numerous things I have grown to love whilst existing on this earth, I love words the most.
They fascinate me. The way they can slip off of your tongue ever so gracefully and draw in another being. The way the pen in my hand seems to slowly serenade the silent blank pages of my journal, and leave within it the creativity that dances around my mind at all times.
There are about two people on this Earth who know of my secret obsession with creative writing. Surprisingly, these two people discovered my poetic practices by sheer accident.
I have always been a writer. Whether it was in my seemingly endless collection of journals, filled cover to cover or the notepad app in my IPhone that I scurried to the break room during work to empty my crowded mind into. If I am not busy with everyday responsibilities, I would be busy writing.
However, since the day I discovered the website Tumblr at the ripe old age of 17, my love for creative writing reached a whole new level of obsessed. The idea that I could keep an online blog of my writings that was both almost undetectable, yet completely open to the public if they knew what to look for blew my teenage mind.
It started as a once in a blue moon occurrence. Every so often I would get bored and decide to post one of my many writings on my Tumblr page. It felt fulfilling to know that people I had never met were able to read the work that I had kept private for so long. After a year or so, I was a master of the Tumblr world. I learned how to personalize my blog and truly make it my own. I tweaked and changed my blog almost every week, constantly adding new material and pictures to accompany it. Soon enough, I had a few hundred people following my blog and posting my writing on their own page out of pure appreciation of the poetry.
It was unbelievable!
I began to draw inspiration for my writing from the many other people that use Tumblr on a daily basis by asking for suggestions on what my next poem should be about. I posted when I was happy. When I was sad. Through heartbreak and my parents’ divorce. Through loss and through love. I would rush home from school and sit on the computer for hours messaging back and forth with people all over the Tumblr world who loved to write as well. I found a sense of peace in the knowledge that I could always write out my feelings through poetry and share them with the world, silently speaking my truth. It was a stress reliever that I carry with me still to this day.
Now at 22, I still find solace in my writing. I have expanded my blogging ventures from solely Tumblr, to another personal collection of writing on WordPress. I write more now than I ever have before. I sleep with ideas of words. How to place them perfectly in juxtaposition with one another in order for magic to happen. Words are such things of beauty, elegance and wistfulness rolled into one. Without them our minds would implode, for they are the liaison between our inner self and reality. You must strategically place them in order to cast your spell. When placed wrongfully, all may be lost.
However, it is better to attempt to cast your spell and fail rather than hold back your magic entirely. The fascination I have with creative writing will probably always stay with me. I have lines from my poems tattooed on my body. It is what lead me to pursue a career in Journalism at a time when I was questioning which direction to turn in order to better my future.
Writing is now an obsession I am proud of. I hope to one day share my writing in a major way, helping others to find peace through their passions. Words are the key to life, the secret to what lies within us all.