Intermission #2 (11/30)

Thirty essays in thirty days, number eleven

As much as I know that it’s a terrible strategy to write and edit at the same time, I find myself doing it a lot. I can’t help it. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a deep desire to express myself clearly. To choose the perfect words to translate from interior to exterior, ambiguous to resonant. I often feel that the words are out there as opposed to in here. This means that I spend a lot of time on most sentences, and I jump back and forth as I’m writing. I know this is not best practice. But, you know, tigers and stripes and all that. It works for me.

This lacrosse series, though, has been the opposite. Writing about this part of my life has been like opening a valve. I open a Google Doc, blink twice, and suddenly there are 1,600 words on the page. Narrative arc and all. It doesn’t feel like a conscious process. And when I finish writing these pieces, I feel like I’ve taken off a bunch of uncomfortable clothes, or like I’ve removed one of those pesky pebbles from my shoe. A certain lightness abounds.

There are some stories that just want to be told. They demand to be done justice, to be examined at a deeper level and acknowledged for their role in shaping who we are. They demand to be brought to life.

Anyway, Part 3 will be in your inbox sometime tomorrow, with some fun additions to spice it up.