Why I Write
Inspired by ‘Why I Write’ by Terry Tempest Williams.
Why I Write
Written by Rebecca Hansell
Inspired by ‘Why I Write’ by Terry Tempest Williams.
A quick note before you start reading: I am human. I basically lost momentum and life got a bit much, so I didn’t really keep up with my Substack when I originally launched it in 2023. I’ve been away, and now I am back and have done a few updates to this post. From May 2025, this post will look a little different to what was originally posted but will still be 100% me. I hope you enjoy. Please subscribe if you haven’t already! Thanks! Rebecca x
I write to try and make sense of a nonsensical world. I write because for so long I felt like I’d lost my voice but now I have something to say. I write to untangle my thoughts, to create space in a brain that is forever too busy. I write to form an opinion. I write to feel like I am making a contribution to the world around me. I write hoping someone will read. I write in a bid to feel understood, to feel validated for the hours poured into reading and adult education.
I write because there is more to life than this.
Than 9-to-5 and early nights and eternal social exhaustion. I write for myself. I write to escape for a minute into inky hypnosis as the nib curves across the page. I write to feel alive, to feel like I am doing something. Anything. To make the world a little bit better. I write to try and show you the wonder of life, the veins on a leaf, the call of a bird, the joy in the laughter.
I write because it is freeing.
I write because it eases the frustration of unmet potential and long roads ahead. I write because I have control of the words, the emotion, the point trying to be made. I write when I cannot speak. The voice can fail but the words are always there. I write for the comfort that I physically made a mark. When I am ashes and dust there will be a part of me that remains, no matter how small or insignificant.
I write because I can.
In a world where anyone can have their say, find their platform. I write to hope my voice adds to the solution and not the problem. I write for many reasons. But, somehow, also for no reason at all.
Currently Reading:
And Relax…
I’ve been trying to up my physical activity recently, me and my boyfriend are planning an adventure later in the year that I need to train for, so part of that has been to do daily yoga. My flat is pretty small, but where there is a will there is a way!
I am currently using the free ‘Yoga With Adriene’ on YouTube, but I’d love to know if you have any other recommendations for a beginner.
