Writing 101 – Day Sixteen

Day Sixteen: Third Time’s the Charm

Today’s Prompt: Imagine you had a job in which you had to sift through forgotten or lost belongings. Describe a day in which you come upon something peculiar, or tell a story about something interesting you find in a pile.

On day four, you wrote about losing something. On day thirteen, you then wrote about finding something. So, today’s twist: If you’d like to continue our serial challenge, also reflect on the theme of lost and found more generally in this post.

So through my harmony, I found myself. Once I discovered my voice, it only led me to want to discover more about the world around me. I wondered how my voice was effected. I starting reading a little bit of everything. I noticed how I seemed gravitate towards certain types of literature first but then I started reading a lot of non-fiction, African American history, Egyptology related material, and even words by themselves caught my eye. I kept a dictionary on me at all times. I wrote down words I was curious about. I was struck one day by what I was doing. If someone would have opened up my journal then, I probably would have received an even more curious stare.

Words were on every page along with definitions. Looking up the meaning of words was something that my father forced me to do as a child which I loathed. Any time I wanted to know something he would never answer his response at all times was, “Look it up”. I can appreciate what he was trying to instill in me. I learned something else about this exercise. I could never go back. Once the fog has been lifted, you cannot pretend. Once you’re unplugged, you can’t be jacked in. Your mind has been expanded. Education will assault your innocence. Knowledge will claim you fully and you cannot erase what you know. Knowledge is power. Hold on to your power.