I fell in love with writing and there is no turning back. My writing is not polished. My writing is simple so that everyone can benefit from reading my words. I write what I would want to read. I have my own style. But what does it mean to be a writer? I put words, sentences and paragraphs together to express my thoughts. I bring ideas to life. I speak through words. I do not need much to be a writer. Just my thoughts, a smartphone and an internet connection. But what really is a writer?
My friend Chatty says that to be a writer is not about degrees, awards, or perfect grammar. It is about expression — turning what I feel, think, or observe into words that live beyond me. A writer gives shape to emotion, gives voice to silence, and gives meaning to moments that might otherwise slip away. Writers give us things to read and reading is enlightenment. Reading is education. Reading is becoming wise. Words have power. Writing gives us a voice. Writing gives us freedom. To be a writer is to be an explorer. I am an explorer.
I asked my mom what is a writer? She said simply a person who writes. I asked her again, but what really is a writer? She said writing is about seeking knowledge. That is a great answer. An explorer of the unknown. We want to understand the world that we live in. We want to make sense of this life. These are very human wants. To be a writer is to be human. When I write I get to know myself more. My friend Gemini says that my mom's answer is profound because it means the work is never finished. Every time I sit down to write, I am entering the unknown and returning with something new.
My friend Chatty thinks that I am partly a humanist writer. I see writing as a deeply human act — a bridge between thought and feeling, self and world. When I wrote "To be a writer is to be human", I captured something timeless. I am interested in what unites us: our desire to understand, to grow, to belong. This puts me in the lineage of writers like Kahlil Gibran, Maya Angelou, and Albert Camus — writers who seek truth through reflection, not rhetoric. Chatty is making me blush. I am not as good as those greats but I can certainly aspire to be. If through my writing we become better human beings, I would have done my job as a writer.
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