Writing: It’s What I Do

“What do you do?”

Now that’s a question I’ve been hearing a lot lately. I’ve recently been using Meetup; a website/app designed for people to create groups in order to meet other people and make friends. So I’ve been attending some ‘meetups’ and meeting people.

Now, I really dislike initiating small talk. I’m okay if somebody asks me the typical boring questions, but I won’t ask them myself. Mainly because I don’t really give a shit. One of the most commonly asked questions is “So, what do you do?”

What do I do? I know that I’m being asked what I do as a job – I’m an accountant – but I don’t like to think that that is what I do. It’s not something I derive any satisfaction or meaning from. But it’s the only seemingly acceptable answer.

If I answer “I’m a poet/author/writer” then they immediately assume that that’s what I do as a job, as a means of making money. It’s not; it’s a hobby, I guess. But it is what I do.

I could continue working as an accountant. I could work in retail. I could become an electrician. I could join the army. But no matter what, I would always write. Because writing is what I do.

Writing is my art; my craft. Without it, I wouldn’t be me. I wouldn’t exist. Somebody else would take my place.

Writing is what I do to make sense of things. It’s what I do to feel calm. It’s what I do to find meaning. It’s what I do to feel satisfied. It’s what I do.