This doesn’t pertain to my writing on Quora alone. I actively write a lot, be it in my journal, blog, twitter etc. There are many reasons why I write.
- It helps me organise my thoughts: Many a times writing helps me think better. When thinking your mind tends to be filled with many ideas that try to find their way out. Writing channels them like water in a pipe and then finally when you are done with jotting it down, you tend to get more clarity.
- I can reach out to more people: I am an extrovert. I like meeting people, sharing my thoughts, hearing their views etc. Writing makes sure that I am sharing my thoughts 24x7 even without me having to actively talk. I find it a fascinating way to communicate.
- It helps vent out my feelings: Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by some thought that it needs to be jotted down. Writing helps me capture such intense emotions that go through my mind. It comes out as a short story or a poem or an essay.
- It helps me share my experiences: I can help many others through my writing. For example, I write about the Civil Service Exam so that many others who don’t have the resources need not reinvent the wheel. They can learn through my experiences. In a way, without being available to them 24x7 physically, my thoughts and experiences are available to them 24x7
- It helps document my evolution: I cringe at some of the blog posts that I had written when I was 18–19. My language was terrible, thoughts immature and I was blissfully unaware of grammar. I used to write ma for my. I have come a long way from that. I feel proud at the way I have evolved. While a picture can record your physical appearance from the past, your writings are a snapshot of your thoughts from a bygone period. If you are only taking selfies, you are actually forgetting to capture the ‘other you’
Finally I believe what we write will endure even after we are long gone. It is for no other reason that the Sanskrit for “word” is “Akshara”. It means that which doesn’t die. Our words live on even when we don’t.