I Opened My Mouth, and I Heard Myself

The idea of "voice" is an important one--you find it a lot. In literature, you talk about it constantly. The characters themselves have voices, certainly, but the authors also have voices. The voice is what pervades each piece of literature written--it is the author bleeding personality on the page. An author's voice is a translation of him or herself into words.

To compliment an author's voice is to validate the way that writer writes, the way he or she is. It is one of the most important--and perhaps, one of the most immutable--qualities of writing.

But outside of the realm of literature, voice is similarly important. I remember one of the most striking PostSecrets I read, a picture of a girl in a hoodie. Around it was written, "I am patiently waiting for the day I find my VOICE."

It's the thing that makes us speak up when we are being persecuted, tormented, treated unfairly. It is the thing that allows us to express our true selves in words. For some people, it comes easily, a natural part of their being. For others, it is hidden and must be tediously searched out.

At the beginning of this year, I wrote a post about my previous year. I submitted it to a mental health blog that I enjoy reading. I had submitted two previous posts, but I felt strongly about this one.

And then something happened. Or rather, for a time, nothing happened. My submission went unacknowledged for a week or so, due to backlogging at the site or the intervening [and undeniably important] real life of the webmaster. It didn't particularly stress me. I figured: this site can't always post everything sent in to it. So I went on with my life.

Then, last week, I got an email from the site's manager, with an apology for lateness, telling me that my post was up. On the posts I've had before, I've received a few responses, thanking me for sharing or offering advice.

This post received seven comments. Seven posts thanking me, congratulating me, complimenting me. Complimenting my voice.

I'm not really sure what the point of this post is--I am not really intending to brag about the good reception or to tell you to go read the same thing I wrote here in a different place.

I just think, after years of patiently waiting, that I may have found my voice.