The Point of Storytelling

Me: The point? The point of storytelling is to share experiences, to release all these thoughts and feelings, and the weird-ass ideas that exist inside of me. To avenge my ancestors' history, burnt by colonizers. When I look back, I don't know who they were. I want my stories to fill a timeline that future generations can look back to.

My Therapist: And not a single thing you mentioned involved money.

Me: *blank stare* Well you got me there Madame Therapist!

This single conversation has made me wonder: when was the last time I wrote without the hope that it would advance my career with the end goal of making money? Or, to go even further, to seek validation? I wonder if it stems from the age-old question, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' There are many things wrong with this question, but today, I'll point out two:

1. What it's truly asking is, 'What do you want to do to make money?' Prove me wrong.

2. It assumes that whatever 'this' is, you cannot possibly be doing it on the very day it's asked. Sure, a 5-year-old literally cannot be a brain surgeon, but what if they said, 'ballerina,' 'soccer player,' or 'writer'? If they danced, kicked a ball, or wrote a little story, wouldn't that act alone make them those things?

Because we assume that it doesn't, I think it's made my answer of 'a writer' into this almost unattainable goal. When am I a writer? And honestly, when exactly did I 'grow up'?

All of this is to say, I forgot the point of my writing. Being out of a typical 9-5 job for months now, I realize my brain has been programmed to view everything I do as a potential money-making opportunity. While it may be true for some things, maybe even writing at times, Young Donna, who knew she wanted to be a writer fairly early on, never thought about mortgages, harsh feedback, or even proper format! She just knew it felt good to tell a story.

So here I am, Mid-30s Donna, with more free time than I ever thought I could have at this age, trying to remind myself what the point is and relish in the sheer joy of storytelling.

I do hope to share my thoughts on this journey as well as pieces of my writing. I hope it becomes a regular thing, but I also logically know I tend to get distracted easily and chase after shiny objects. And if I do, so be it. I don't want to impose too many rules on this in fear that it'll distract from the point. Maybe my only rule is to write as if I'll never get paid.

But if someone wants to Venmo a dollar to me and help break this rule, I'm @donna-foronda