Jennifer Bartell Boykin

Coming to the blank page is like an offering to myself. Not quite sacrifice or sacrament. But how I say thank you to myself. God did not design me to be stuck in front of these screens wasting time. I was built for so much more, and it’s time for me to start walking in it.

And here I am. Crafting words and sharing them with you.

All efforts of writing won’t be spectacular, but I can come to the page; I always have something to offer to the page, and that’s an important reminder. It’s the journey, the process, that matters, and that is what I need to remember. In the midst of everyday, I have time to write something. To do a quick freewrite with my students, to write in my journal, to revise one line of poetry or one paragraph of a story. Those are victories too. And should be celebrated.

The art of not being too hard on myself and simultaneously holding myself accountable is hard to master. But I will keep trying everyday. I will keep coming to the blank page.