Op-Ed: Why Do We Write?

A lot of people ask me why I am writing when I can take a high-paying job elsewhere and point out almost everytime that my PhD should be put to good use. I enjoy writing as much as doing clinical psychology, and reading books as part of my work truly excites me everytime. I enjoy it so much that it's like being paid for breathing.

I know a lot of us go through college thinking of what concentration or major will land us a high-paying role in the future. Nobody thinks of passion at this stage, because most of the time, our passion will not pay the bills and will not be able to afford us a Tesla, just to name a few of the things that we possibly want. Often times, our success is measured by others through the possessions that we have; and so, our decisions and choices in life are influenced by a lot of these factors.

When we go out in the real world, we are confronted with many problems, enough for us to realize that working in the corporate world is just like studying in uni, but this time it is our bosses who give the assignments. Slowly, we realize that we are not fit for the job. We are stuck in making money than to be doing what we really care about. Gradually, it is not about being successful anymore. We long for long-term satisfaction. And satisfaction is a complex thing to behold.

It is funny that college expects us to make life-long decisions when we cannot even takcle polynomials in a rational expression, much more to reduce it in simple terms. Realization takes a while, and as this nagging desire erupts in our conscious self, we consider change in career somewhere in our lives. For some psychologists, they call this phenomenon as mid-life crisis.

When considering a career change, we are often overwhelmed by some prospects about the career we want to get into. And so the vicious cycle tend to repeat itself. When I got into writing, I never imagined myself to be the next J.K. Rowling. I just want to write stories that hopefully people will love. Some of my books won an award that when adapted into a movie, it flopped in epic proportions. I have had my share of scathing reviews. I have been accused of so many things about my writing that sometimes hit me straight in the guts.

And so I always confront people when they ask me this question. I tell them that I write because talking to myself is boring. I tell them that a writer is like a magician in that my words evoke emotion, stir anger, shed tears, and its magic extends beyond when the novel is finished. Some of its words stay with us, the plot affects us in a way that it influence our own behavior and actions. So, I also concede that writing is also a huge responsibility in this regard.

Our lives are made up of the choices that we have made in the past. It is for this reason that short-term goals is more important than planning for a big dream. Because as time passes by, our big dreams change overtime as we discover ourselves as we go along. It is not too late to dream a new dream, so said wisely by someone. But remember, a dream without a plan is only a wish.

Good luck.

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