To See

I write because I want to see. I write because I don't want to forget. I write because I want to understand, to learn, to grow, to change. I want to remember my family--Mom's hands, Dad's freckles, Grandma's droopy eyelids, my brother's ripped jeans and rumbling truck. I want to see, to see the world around me differently. I want to know them, connect with them. Relate to them. I want to see late nights in the puffy eyes and smell musty cologne on their skin. I want to know why their shoes are scuffed--where they've been, who they love. I want to see people in a way that they can be understood if only in a small way. I want to know their Dad--how he picked them up from school in a rusty Chevrolet, how he burned their toast each morning for breakfast, how he watched them from the heat of the metal bleachers, clapped and rooted for their touchdown. I want a touchdown-- to touch down deep, touch the lives of readers with what I write. I want to write for me and by writing for me, I write for everyone.