Writing – Page 2 – Creative Meanderings

Third Installment

Nov 272016

Just two days ago I wrote about my upcoming article on Aprilmag.com. Well, it was published without my realizing it and is now up on the magazine page!

It feels good to be writing regularly again and I feel as if each time I am upping my game a bit. It gives me confidence again about writing and looking for other ways to generate income doing it. THIS is my dream, after all….

So, I do have my next assignment and need to get myself moving on that. Plus, I am going to look at some other options for writing or generating income on blogging…. Stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, enjoy what April Magazine has to offer. 🙂

~T 😀

2nd Article

Going Mental, Writing No Responses »

Oct 012016

Remember when I posted about my first paid and published article?

Well, the second one is online now!

It has a slightly different theme than the first as I do not always want to seem as if I am negative about being Asian and perceptions held of my ethnic background. 😉

It is exciting to have this opportunity to write fairly freely about issues that are close to my heart.

The next one is mulling around in my head and may be back to familiar themes. 😛

Hope you enjoy!

~T 😀

Callings…

Going Mental, Writing No Responses »

Mar 222015

The way that I manage to get a lot of reading done aside from a few pages before bed is by exercising on the treadmill. Lately, the weather has been rather grey and windy as the heat slowly moves into the city, so I’ve been back on the ‘mill to burn off the days’ tensions. Although I was just doing yoga twice a week and it seemed enough, I’ve realized that isn’t actually the case. I need to both distract my mind and burn off steam daily. Yoga brings me some quiet, but it’s not enough release of the buzz of my brain – especially on busy or stressful days. Usually, swimming is a good alternative as well, but since the weather has been ‘cool’ I haven’t quite got back into that routine yet. Thus, I’m on the ‘mill.

So, I’m reading this book called The In-Between by Jeff Goins (read him before and a write-up of this one to come when I finish). In the chapter I read today, he talks about how he realized his calling to write – which led to the question of whether or not one is gifted with certain predilections for life than others. As Goins writes, he knew that he was meant to write early on, I knew I was meant for writing when I was eight. There was absolutely no reason for me to feel this way, but something inside of me said that I needed to write – to share my life stories.

What is interesting about this is that just like when I do not exercise, when I do not write I feel tense and un-grounded. I lack focus when I haven’t written in my journal or had a blog post. It seems to be the one way that I can express myself clearly without fear of being misunderstood or censored for my words. It’s the one way that I am taken seriously without offense or interruption to be told that I am wrong for my thoughts. It’s the one way that I am heard. And, I am satisfied.

Although I have swayed like an out-of-sync pendulum back and forth on whether or not writing is really a part of my life, I need to truly come to terms with this reality – I AM A WRITER. I need it to write like I need to breathe. I need to write to exist. This is my calling above all other things that draw my attention or offer unknown even unreal promises. This is my calling.

Now, if only I had a clearer idea of how to make this central rather than peripheral to my life….(guess that’s another post!).

~T 😀

Loud and Clear

Creative Meanderings, Writing 1 Response »

Oct 312013

Where is my voice?
– I hear it buried deep within.

Who is my voice?
– She is a woman with strength and courage to be heard.

How is my voice?
– It is quiet but strong, if only the world would be still enough to hear it.

Where is my voice?
– It is beginning to return to the top.

Who is my voice?
– She is someone finding herself again.

How is my voice?
– It is firm and confident in what it wants to say.

Where is my voice?
– I am here.

Who is my voice?
– I am.

How is my voice?
– Crystal clear.

~T
October 30, 2013

_You Are A Writer: So Start Acting Like One_ by Jeff Goins

Literary Escapes, Writing No Responses »

Jun 282012

_You Are A Writer: So Start Acting Like One_ by Jeff Goins

A friend of mine on Facebook posted a link to this book and the writer in me decided I should read it! Lucky for me, it also happened to be free on Kindle and after about two short hours of reading, I completed it feeling inspired.

One of the first and most important steps that Goins impresses upon the reading is to say “I am a writer” and then to ensure that one writes every day until it becomes a habit that happens without thought or effort. He explains how fear is such a great factor in a writer’s decision to ‘dream’ of writing rather than actually writing. Goins goes on to further explain ways to get yourself out there as a writer and then to eventually get published. It makes the possibility of being a successful writer who contributes something to the artistic, literary and greater worlds a reality rather than a pipe dream.

The truth is that I’ve always been a ‘dreamer’ and less of a writer. I go through phases where I really focus on my writing and take the proper steps to move forward toward the ‘dream’, but then I am easily distracted or demotivated, so that it remains just a ‘dream’. However, I hate it when people complain or wish for things that are fully within their means to do something about. I recall my friend telling me sometime last year that being a writer is something that I can do and so I should just do it. That motivation lasted a bit of time, but again I got distracted and it was pushed to the sidelines. Now that it is holiday time again and I force myself to take a step back from all other distractions, I find my heart winding its way back to writing.

So, I have joined a new travel blog and agreed to start contributing to the site with my travel stories. Also, I have entered the Twitter world of writers under my pseudonym and will try to start making a presence in the world of writers in hopes of making this attainable dream come true!

😀 -T

On Being Asian

Creative Meanderings, Writing No Responses »

Dec 312011

Just because I am Asian
On the outside doesn’t mean
I am on the inside.

Just because I am Asian
On the outside doesn’t mean
I want you to be my sugar daddy.

Just because I am Asian
On the outside doesn’t mean
I understand when you practice Ni hao, Konnichiwa or Annyeong haseyo.

Just because I am Asian
On the outside doesn’t mean
I am an excellent student or play classical music.

Just because I am Asian
On the outside doesn’t mean
I love Hello Kitty and all things cute.

Just because I am Asian
On the outside doesn’t mean
I relate to anything Asian.

Just because I am Asian
On the outside doesn’t mean
I am on the inside.

~T
December 30, 2011

Brain drain or brain break?

Creative Meanderings, Going Mental, Writing No Responses »

Dec 032011

In an email that I received last week, the writer made a comment about how she thinks Facebook and other such media affect people’s patience and ability to write or think. It made me think about the amount of time I spend on the computer and watching TV rather than reading or writing like I used to. It’s been since I came to the UAE that I spend so much more time away from what I really love – a good book and pen and paper!

So, this weekend, I attempted to test out this theory and spent some time reading a book I only read at night to go to sleep. It somehow triggered some thinking and creativity in me. Thus, I ended up writing a couple of ‘letters’ for a memoir-like novel I am writing. Here it is:

OmmaOdie_Part3

October Blues – poems

Creative Meanderings, Writing No Responses »

Oct 122011

These are a couple of poems I wrote for the Emirates Literary Group Abu Dhabi that I went to last month, but am skipping this month as I’m totally wiped out today….

They don’t have titles at the moment other than “October Blues”.

If you are always right
And I am always wrong,
Then why do we fight?

With all your tendencies
Towards arrogance, hypocrisy and idiocy,
Why won’t you just see?

Perhaps, just possibly,
You might be wrong –
But, no, how could that be?

~T
October 10, 2011

_____________________________

From the outside,
It shines like a new coin.

From the outside,
It runs like a well-oiled machine.

From the outside,
Everyone smiles.

From the outside,
Everyone is your friend.

Unfortunately, the inside is never
Quite what it seems,

From the outside.

~T
October 10, 2011

How Can It Be?

Writing No Responses »

Jun 052011

I try to understand
I try to empathize
I try to rationalize

Yet, my words get twisted
Yet, my voice gets lost
Yet, my heart gets pain

How can it be –
This change?
This stranger?
This feeling of loss?

The more I try, the less I sleep
The more I think, the less I understand
The more I rationalize, the less it makes sense

My love is the same
My passion is the same
My feeling is the same

So, why does it all feel different?

~T
June 4, 2011

Belonging

Creative Meanderings, Writing No Responses »

Mar 232011

To whom do I belong?
a biological mother who abandoned me
families that denied me
men who took advantage of my body
a woman who scarred my mental and emotional states

To what place do I belong?
one that sent me away
one that lost me in their system
one that is blind to diversity
one that uses people who look like me

Where do I belong?
near my loving adoptive family
near my adoptive country
near my friends in foreign lands
near my motherland

How do I belong?
by accepting
by adapting
by adjusting
by assimilating

Is this the way I belong?

-T
~March 14, 2011

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