I Am

September 23rd, 2013

I am

by Grace Donvan

I am a singer and songwriter
I think that music is amazing

I am a dog lover
Walking my favorite dog Sophie
Throwing balls to her
and trying to get them back

I am a fast runner
I love feeling the wind in my hair and face I love speed

I am a reader
Of interesting books
I love the feeling
Of being somebody else’s eyes

The above poem was written by the nine year old daughter of a friend of mine. I’m constantly amazed at what thrashes around in the minds of our very young. I look at Grace’s poem and think how great it is that she writes and has found a way to express what goes around in her brain. Then I think about the children who don’t “write” – they only respond to the on-demand writing in the classroom. I used to be one of those children. I never connected with sharing my thoughts with “writing”.

Today I’m impressed with Grace’s thoughts. She very truthfully stated who she is – a brave thing to do. I wondered what I would say if I were called upon to do the same. Here’s my shot at it:

I Am

By Linda Bartosik

I am a writer.
I love the way words empty my heart and bring clarity to my head.

I am an artist.
Watching color splash on paper and take form makes my spirit soar.
I love how moving a few pencil strikes around somehow evolves into a living, breathing character in a story.

Most of me is a teacher.
My gift is breaking the mountain down into a few manageable grains of sand.

I just grabbed a piece of white paper and stopped to think of what makes me, me and wrote a few sentences about the three major parts of “me”. At first I was scared. Then I said, “If Grace can do it so freely, so can I.”

How about you? Grab a sheet of paper. Write I Am on top. Who are you? No one but you has to see it, so go ahead. Don’t try to impress or write for someone else’s eyes. Be as free as a nine year old. You may surprise yourself. 🙂

And so, as another day goes by, it’s good to pause now and then and think about what makes us “us”, and I have written.