I've been writing for the better part of my life. My first short story I wrote (I was about 12 or 13), was a terribly unoriginal zombie horror story that I thought was genius when I was writing it.
I never really put a ton of thought into that particular story and just kind of zoned out as I wrote it. Twenty minutes later, in front of me was that embarrassingly bad idea that was in my head, but sitting in front of me on paper. No longer was it just a dumb idea I thought about, it existed in the real world now. I could see it, and more importantly, so could others.
That was the spark that lit the flame.
After a few more horror stories throughout the years, I started writing again in high school. When it came to girls, I was mostly horrible with them, and like any teenager I took every lonely moment and lack of girlfriends to be way more serious then the situation ever was, looking back. I started writing to deal with the angst and loneliness of being a teenager.
Eventually, writing became this different thing for me all together. It became my release, my lifeline. I was never suicidal, but there were many moments in my life where I just felt awful and didn't think my life would ever get better. One of the greatest discoveries of my young adult life was realizing that my pen was always there waiting for me.
I could be having the worst day ever, and once I started writing I could forget about everything. It was just me and my words. Even if it were for only five minutes, it would help. Writing got me through so many difficult points in my life. I shared all my short stories online as I wrote them, so it also helped me with becoming comfortable with showing my work with others.
Throughout high school, I must have written over 70 short stories. None of them we're really any good, but I still am proud of them. They are tiny little parts of me, and I'm glad it's something that is still a huge part of my life.
I have a gift, with writing. Not in the sense that I think I am a good writer, but I am able to utilize it into something that has changed my life tremendously and I am so grateful to have that.
Having a bad day? Write about it. It just about saved my life.
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