My love affair with words

Growing up, I was that child who simply LOVED learning, especially language and words. I delighted in learning the names for everything - parts of my anatomy, actions, things, people. The alphabet as well as the different strokes making up Chinese words, were simply magic to me in how they group to form countless words and characters that helped me make sense of the world around me, and communicate with others.

I revelled in feeling each syllabus, consonant and vowel roll off my tongue, as much as the "zh, ch, mh, fh" of Mandarin.

While my brother, older than me by three years, exasperated the mother by having the attention span of a goldfish when she tried to read to him, I sat by their side, enraptured by the stories she read to him, soaking everything up like a thirsty sponge.

And that was the beginning of my deep love for words. I was spellbound by the fictional world, and later the non-fictional one. Stories of romance, fantasy, adventure, survival and mystery enthrall me no end, and entice me from normal life all too often. I bury my nose in books wherever and whenever I could, ever yearning to read more, learn more, laugh, cry and frown in the magical tales spun from writers' pens.

From this love of reading, came the love of writing. That was my favoured mode of communication as a borderline introvert - while I enjoy conversation and getting to know others, I much prefer listening and observing, rather than sharing my own thoughts and opinions. As such, I find much more comfort in writing, where I can express myself better, often with the luxury of time to find the perfect words to describe what I was trying to relate. The eternal dreamer in me also love transforming the images and events from my fantasy world onto words. There is a great satisfaction that comes from getting a phrase just the way I imagined - you can almost hear the "click" as it all falls beautifully into place.

This love of writing is what drives my blogging. I love creating with language and words, a figment of my mind that I don't mind sharing with the world. I constantly walk the balance between what I'd like to share, versus what I would prefer to hold close to my heart, like secrets with myself, or a very choice group. Another reason which compels me to blog, is just for posterity - to mark for myself, what I was thinking, feeling, and experiencing at this point in my life. Sure I have my memories, but those are not the most dependable. The greatest moments will etch themselves deep in your mind, but without some form of record, you may forget some of the precious details that make that moment so wondrous. Those other slightly less momentous ones that are no less magical, could use some help from writing to be remembered and savoured again. The little pleasures, and beauty in life.

That, is what kept me from giving up on blogging. It will never be replaced by other social media platforms, which are more convenient or time-efficient, but lack the freedom to create as I like, without character limit or the need for visuals all the time.

After all the time I had been gone, I have lots to catch up on, but it's never too late to start, again. And this time, I will make a proper attempt to do so. Because it is what I enjoy, and I'd like to do it more.

It's a love that's constant, and ever reliable. I'm a little rusty no doubt, but as with all skills, time and more practice will make this a little smoother, slowly but surely.

Thank you for always being there for me my love, I promise to be more present now. :)