Why I Write

As long as I can remember I have turned to music but really to lyrics as a form of therapy. There's something remarkably comforting to finding that song that epitomizes what I'm going through and puts my feelings into words. But it's more than that.
The source of the comfort comes from the assurance that someone else has gone through what I'm going through and has felt the same way. Someone understands. I'm not alone.
Lyrics, and thus words, build an intense connection between two people who have never met. Those people relate on a deep, emotional level. They sympathize with each other, understand each other, and draw parallels between each other's lives. Here is where my two biggest interests blend into one: music and words connect all people. They remind us we are a community who has things in common. They remind us we have support. They remind us it is not impossible to overcome our feelings. Someone has done it before. I always preferred sad lyrics and many people have judged me for that. It's not because I'm emo or I have a sad life or have some morbid fascination with the truly tragic. Sad lyrics are simply more powerful. Sure, it's great to know when people are happy, but people need the music and the words more when they're not. When I'm upset I want to hear words that understand, relate, sympathize, offer insight, remind me I'm not alone.
Words can connect and help strangers. They've taught me about myself as they've taught me about people in general and the world. The way we understand that world and people (be it ourselves or someone else) is by connecting our experiences to the rest of the world, to the bigger picture. We must find ways to link our lives/experiences to everyone else's. I write not only because I've learned, been touched by, and been inspired by writing, but also because I have an idealistic hope that someone else can draw from and find comfort in my experiences and my words. Because I know I am not one person alone, but one person in a community and world of people like me.