Experience is what makes us. . .

Hidden beneath the thin skin walls of every soul are the experiences that shape and mold us. This is a truth that cannot be argued. We are who we are because of what we have lived through - the good, the bad and most definitely the certifiable. The trouble is, people are rarely walking billboards of truth. It takes months - even years - to really get to know a person beyond skin-deep. Sometimes it's even hard to get to know our own selves intimately. That's why I so enjoy writing.

Read an original piece of work and you will get a rare glimpse into the raw and unlittered soul of the writer. It is impossible not to. When a writer lays words to paper, he is spewing forth a tiny part of his very being. No matter the subject of the written piece, I challenge any author out there to leave himself behind when he writes. I don't believe it can be done . . . and that is why I love it so. It forces me to rein myself back in. Writing brings me back to the very core of who God made me to be. In life, it is easy to play a role - to act a certain part. There is something both humbling and pacifying about baring one's soul through the gift of language.