It All Started With a Typewriter

Royal Typewriter

The more I think about it, the more I realize that I have always been a writer.  Truly, I think it all started with a typewriter, literally.  When I was about 12-years-old my mom gave me her old manual Royal portable typewriter.  You wouldn’t believe what they called portable back then. This thing weighed a ton and came in this heavy duty metal suitcase like thing. And you had to really use some muscle to push the keys down. There was no backspace or delete key. A typo was a typo and there was no easy way to fix it.

Anyway, this typewriter seemed really cool to me, and it didn’t seem to mind that my typing speed was about 12 words per minute, and the result of lots of hunting and pecking. Still, there was a very awesome power that came with the idea that I could take a blank sheet of paper and make it anything that I wanted it to be. It was the ultimate control, and it began to slowly tap into my creativity.

Today, as I stare at a blank computer screen, I get the same sensation. I let myself write in a fairly free-form way, with very little editing as the words start to flow from my head to my fingertips. For this reason, I have always felt that writing or being a writer isn’t a choice; it just is.

As I think back, I was pretty much always that kid who kept a diary and wrote in journals and notebooks. I have always been introspective. During my years of rampant teenage angst, I was more given to writing poetry and journal entries about how hard it was being a teenager. It was very “Rebel Without a Cause” kind of stuff, that turned out to really not be such a big deal.  Just all part of growing up!

I have always been a writer in spite of myself. It actually took me until the end of my second year in college to finally declare myself a Journalism Major. Up until that point, I was still asking myself what I wanted to be when I grew up.

So, let’s fast forward to today. Here I am on the brink of something very exciting. I have just started freelance writing for the Houston Chronicle, and will have a weekly column with my very own byline and photo. It’s kind of my Carrie Bradshaw moment, only I won’t be writing about “Sex in the City.” I will be writing a column on “Relocation in the City.” (That is not the official title. It’s actually going to be titled: “On the Move”).  It launches this Sunday, with a blog to soon follow, so stay tuned…

Lastly, if you are reading this blog in hopes of seeing a little drumming, here you go. I made this video almost 2 months ago, so there is already vast improvement in my drumming skills. I promise that my next drumming video will be posted in a more timely manner. Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks for watching! Cheers!

Click here to view my video on YouTube.

1 Comment

  1. Congratulations on the great gig Michelle. I know you will knock it out of the park. Great read and cant wait to see the new video. Put on a rainbow afro for fun 🙂 Or maybe not, its your call. At least the idea is there.
    I remember my first type writer. It was a blast using that thing. Was much happier when the computer came into play.

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