#3. Cheerleader energy, October edition

Boston Marathon, Finding voice, mini-poem

Oct 14, 2021

Hello, hello!

Welcome to the Third edition of TOAT and a happy Ayudh Pooja to all those celebrating!

Over the weekend, I had taken some time out to prepare a draft about Pumpkin Spice Latte, and October being dreamy and all that jazz. Rollover to Monday and I have decided to postpone it for a later time because I would much rather share my experience at the Boston Marathon.

I had little knowledge about the Marathon route, so imagine my surprise when I hear sounds of cheers from my window. I set about my usual wind-down-after-work walk and was pleasantly surprised to see that the traffic through the main road was cordoned off and there were barricades on the sidewalk. I soon found myself clapping, and sharing the experience- who were these people that I was cheering on, why was I feeling exhilarated when I cheered them and they smiled back with acknowledgment? What was this feeling called? I loved being a cheerleader, I loved watching on the sidelines! It took no efforts on my part to be doing any of this- it was easy to absorb this energy from people around me, from moms with toddlers and dogs; from the paramedics at the make-shift medical camp who yelled, ‘ you’ve got this!’ and from runners themselves. This has been good for me and I would like to pass it on - a reminder for you to be a big ball of energy and enthusiasm today.

Reading Corner

Bird by bird is a hilarious, and honest take on everything that goes into writing.

Personally, I was curious to know what goes behind the scenes of a published writer’s life: what their routine would be like, where they got their ideas from, and how they included their writing routine into their daily life. And no matter how much I enjoyed reading them, I found it difficult to see myself having the same writing style: with detailed imagery, or plots that pulled you into the story, so who would read what I would write?

It was through Bird by Bird that I understood that I am not supposed to write like them. I am supposed to write like me. I was supposed to find my own writing voice and give it strength.

Writing Corner

I decided to take the advice in Bird by Bird seriously and resumed working on some long-term writing projects that I had started in the summer of this year. While these may not be ready for public viewing at the moment, I invite you to enjoy this mini-poem today.

They have not found a
way to measure -
Drawing a flower
blooming, with hands
for brush,
Or, the bounce of
feet, scientists have not
found a way to measure
things created from
the heart.