When can you call yourself a writer?

Salaam friends,

I didn't consider myself a writer until I got accepted into a master's writing program. Even then, I had doubts at times. I believed I had to be published before I could truly call myself a writer. When family members asked about my occupation, I would tell them about my day job but never mention my enrollment in a writing program. However, I had been writing and reading for most of my life.

I remember my mother gifting me comic books as a kid in Yemen. I used to hide them because I was afraid my friends would laugh at me if they caught me reading them. I remember despising my Arabic classes, particularly grammar, but I enjoyed memorizing poetry and composing essays. On the first week after I migrated to the US my cousin took me to the public library to rent movies. I walked between the book aisles in dismay, imagining what it would be like to pull a book out and simply read. For me, this is where the voice of doubt comes from. It says to me, “English is your second language, what are you doing?” For others, it’s their age, education level, or unattainable “skills.” For a long time I waited for someone else to give me the title I thought I didn’t deserve. A writer. Yet, I question whether it even matters.

What defines a writer? Is it someone like Harper Lee, the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Who had only one published book at the age of 34, passing away at 89 while spending most of her life away from the public eye? Or is it someone like Stephen King, who seems to produce a new book every other week? I believe the answer is neither. In fact, I don't think the question itself is worth asking. It seems to seek permission to write or approval from an imaginary council that holds the power to grant or deny legitimacy. What matters is not a title we can put on our social media bio, or walk around telling people about our artistic eye. What matters is granting ourselves the permission to put words next to each other.

To become a writer is to write. It doesn’t matter how often, if published or not, if it’s fiction stories or journaling about the beautiful and challenging events in ones life. We write because we enjoy the freedom the pen or keyboard offers us when we set aside all our obligation for a moment so our mind can mirror itself on the page. We write to paint life on the page, to capture a still moment in words, to reshape the way we think, deepen our understanding, and to be vulnerable in a world that is consistently telling us who, how, and what to be.

Writing is hard and fun. The writers I know do it sometimes, others write on inspiration, and some have been feeling stuck for a year or so. And that’s fine. We are all in different journeys. So appreciate yours. Write the things you want the world to know. Offer people a piece of your mind, culture, and concerns. The stories you write, only you can tell them. So write them.

🎧 What am I listening to?

I’m training for a ten mile race in September and it’s been making me think of David Goggins, the ultramarathon runner. So I started listening to his conversation with Chris Williamson on the Modern Wisdom podcast.

David Goggins went through a lot of trauma as a young kid, and over time he used exercise to overcome it. He calls the process mental toughness. I love the passion he bring to everything he talks about.

🍿 Movies I’m watching?

I’m watching the movie NOPE directed by Jordan Peele, the same director from Get Out. Both movies are spectacular. I highly recommend them.

🔖 Quote I’m pondering

"Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins.”

— James Baldwin

📸 Through My Lens