Happy Writing Marathon #2 "Who are you writing for?"
After my first post for Ken Honda's project, Happy Writing Marathon #1, I've been continuing to write for the #2 prompt while feeling excited about how to approach it.
Who am I writing for?
People who are struggling with the same issues
First of all, what came to mind was people who are struggling with the same issues I had in the past. Because I understand that suffering and sadness so painfully well, I have a strong desire to be of help to someone by documenting my experiences.
I want them to get better in a shorter period of time than the long years I spent struggling. I have a hope that by writing, it might serve as a hint for others, helping more people move forward without wasting precious time, or even healing someone's heart just a little bit.
Myself
I feel that writing helps me organize my thoughts.
Even if I write for someone else, rereading it can lead to my own realizations. It's mysterious.
I can confirm my feelings at that time. When I do that, I can accept myself at that moment, and I feel like praising myself or telling myself, "You did your best."
It might also have a healing effect on myself.
Family and friends
My family, who supported me when I was sad and suffering. I especially write when I want to express gratitude. Since I'm shy about saying it out loud, I often write messages on LINE to convey it.
For my only daughter, I often write handwritten letters for her birthday or her 10-year half-coming-of-age ceremony, praising her hard work up to now and writing content that encourages her to have a wonderful future. And I am grateful that she was born.
The friends who helped me when I was alone with my daughter in Australia, with no family nearby, are like family and siblings to me. I can't thank them enough. I always try to write my thoughts and gratitude in birthday cards for those friends.
Acquaintances and people who have helped me
As I wrote in Happy Writing Marathon #1, when I was a university student, I used to send postcards from my travel destinations to people who had helped me.
Now that I can send messages instantly from my smartphone, I don't send postcards at all. I feel a bit nostalgic for those days when I would look at various postcard photos, wanting to share the beautiful scenery of my travels, and write down what I felt to send them.
Once I could easily get in touch via smartphone, it felt strange to go out of my way to send messages from my travels, and I stopped writing during my trips.
Next time I go on a trip, I think I might try buying a postcard, but then I realized that even though I'm connected with people via email or LINE, there are many whose addresses I don't know. I used to carry an address book with me on my travels back then.
I had never thought about who I was writing for, but I realized that at this very moment, I am writing for people I have never even met, and that made me excited all over again.
Thank you for reading 😊