Why I Write

A friend once told me that our minds are like hamsters, spinning against the wheel of time. Our minds would like to think that we live forever, and maybe we do in a karmic senses. But lo and behold, our body ages before our eyes. When we realize that we will die, that the end is coming upon us faster than we think, we take a step back and think, " What have I done to impact this world?"
What mark will I leave on my friends, family, and society? For some people, they are satisfied with the passing on of values and beliefs to their offspring. Others create skyscrapers and buildings to live after them and withstand the test of time. Businesses are spawned, stamped with our last names and inscripted on thousands of manila business cards, passed out with a smiling face and sweaty palm. Stupid faces are captured in a 30 second commercial, smiling at the camera and if we're lucky, singing a little jingle.
I like to write. Right now, it is usually just the simple act of vandalism, or the online blog post that I hope somebody will read. But I want to make my name known to the world, I want to be immortalized in the captions of history along with the greats.
To do this takes practice, it takes experience, it takes confidence. Ayn Rand might have picked up a leaf of papers and started writing her first screenplay at the age of 8, but what is important is that she was constantly writing every day after. Hubert Selby Jr. picked up a pen and paper one day and started writing down everything he could think of. What seperates the good writer from the great writer is a dedication to the written word. It is the separation of frantic mind from creation. Harnessing this amazing computer and spirit housed in a temporal, fragile body. It is expression at it's purest, and when you see pure expression, harnessed with style, skill, and brain power, it is truly a sight to behold. I hope to one day create a masterpiece that will stand the test of time and express an emotion that someone else wants to, but can't. I want to be a lyrical wordsmith, shooting up imaginary sparks with each click of my keyboard.