why i write.

when people asked if i liked writing growing up i would always telling them i didn't like it. because i wasn't very good. since coming to college i've learned that i do love writing and i always have. i just hate writing papers, and essays, and important things that make me sound like a total fake.
...
you see, i've filled journals and journals and more journals through out my life. ever since i was little. silly entries about boys, important spiritual experiences, things i've been upset about, or maybe just how i had a good day. in middle school i wrote every.single.day.  you can imagine what those pages are like!  in high school i wrote about some of my hardest life experiences and look back on those with gratitude. the college pages are filled with lessons i've learned and how i've grown up over the years.
last week i read back through some of these pages.  and suddenly my mind was illuminated.  i was amazed at how experiences in my life had fallen into place so perfectly.  the reassurance that Heavenly Father has been aware of every single prayer, of every single struggle, and every single detail of my life.  sometimes i did not like the answers i received or was confused as to why things were happening as they were. and now, looking back, it all just seems to make perfect sense.
...
last week i was reading in 3 nephi 23.  and i was touched.  Jesus Christ asks Nephi to show Him the record which they have kept. then he asks why they did not write about the miracles they had seen and the fulfillment of prophecies. then Christ tells them that these things are important to write, and Nephi wrote it down.
i realized that we have also been asked to write down the experiences we have in our own life. maybe they won't be scripture, but they can be reminders of the miracles we have seen in our own life.
...
writing letters is a hobby. simple as that. sending a quick note is a favorite. and having friends on missions has been fun cause who doesn't love getting mail?  kelsy and i were even pen pals before she left. [and i guess we technically still are.]  the days i miss her the most i look back through all those letters. and i'm amazed. most of them are so ridiculous. but some of them are so special. sharing some of our sweetest experiences and asking advice about the hard things. and even though at the time we still talked on the phone multiple times a week, the letters were still the best.
...
my mom and i started a "mom and me journal" last week. a simple book that we write letters back and forth to each other. most people talked about doing it with a young daughter. but i couldn't be more excited to share this with my mom. she can give me advice and share with me her own experiences. we can simply laugh about daily life events. and most importantly, continue to grow closer together.
...
this week is the one year mark of getting my response to "confidential". writing because i needed answers. or maybe to just get it off my chest. maybe one day i'll share that whole story. even though it was one of the scarier [scariest?] things i've ever done, i couldn't be more grateful that i went through with it.
...
i guess there are a lot of reasons i write. sometimes because i find it fun. sometimes to share. and sometimes because i just want to remember. days that i find myself stressed or confused i write. i write down my concerns and my questions. it's the way i'm able to express my feelings when i'm not able to put it into words. [meaning, words that come out of my mouth.] i write so that someday my children will know how i dealt with hard things and that i have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. i write so i can tell about the funniest parts of my day, to look back and laugh. i write to remember.  my writing certainly isn't perfect, but i write because i love it.
...
"get a notebook...a journal that will last through all time
and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity."
-president spencer w. kimball