I would like to say I'm a girl with imagination. A soul with stories. A dreamer that appears off her rocker. A singer for the quiet places. A color to a blank page. As I said, I would like to say these things and believe them to be true. Never did I tell you I was good at any of those...However, I am a story teller. Through and through. I could tell you a story off-the-cuff, fiction or true. You ask my why?
All I say: memory, baby. memory.
Let me explain with a brief story. Out at camp, when I worked with teenage inner-city girls, we walked and talked to activities. Or sometimes, we walked. And, well, OK, I sang. On one particular day, I was singing, with my "soulful Aretha Franklin" type voice--at least I thought I was. This is what happened:
Me: (singing deeply and with soul..I won't even type out what I sang...just imagine...just try)
Kadeedra: Girl, you off!
Me: Oh, no! Was I out of key on that?
Kadeedra: Nah, girl. YOU. YOU OFF!
And there you have it. At that moment, I was relieved that she didn't think I was off-key, rather that Kadeedra just thought I was crazy. That I could live with. That I could be at peace with knowing that I was "off."
I'm not going to write a blog post on how the "off" women change the world, because well, some of them really don't at all. Some of them just hang out in their off corner of the world and turn themselves off. But what this post is about is about a story. About any story. Because kid, your today is a story. Your yesterday is story. Each hour of your life makes up a part of a story. Some people don't know which chapters to share and which chapters to leave out.
There are no rules in the library of life. The only thing that is promoted here is something you were taught in kindergarten: share. Please share.
I write because I remember. I record it because I can. The only difference between our stories and the fiction of the world...No one can skip through all the middle only to read your last page and decide if you're "worth the read." Because honey, you are worth the read, because you are worth the write. The Author is a credible source, I promise.
I'm going to the library. You want to join? It's alright if you're off.
-S
