Why I Write--Jeannette Walls

Why do I write? To tell a story—my story. Mine is a story of survival, a story of life. I write not for the money, nor for the fame. I am not an excitement addict. I write because I must. I also write because I want to.

Growing up, the only constant in my life was education. My mom, a teacher, and my dad, an inventor, were both smarter than most would give them credit for. They gave my siblings and me quite an education. Us kids were taught from a young age that education was of the utmost importance, even if it wasn’t always a formal education. Sometimes, though, formal isn’t the best. A formal education would have never taught me what I learned from my childhood. I would have never learned how to skedaddle, how to brush past muggers on the streets, or how to worry about no one’s opinion but my own. Without a well-rounded and practical education such as this, I would be just another memoir writer hoping to sell copies to those who would be willing to read them. With this “unorthodox” education, though, I feel that I can truly write my feelings, not merely my words.

I learned how to write at a young age, but the joy of writing never caught on until the ninth grade. In my freshman year, I was able to work with the school newspaper, The Maroon Wave. Working with the paper opened my eyes to a world I had never before laid eyes upon, a world of truth and candid clarity. I was able, for the very first time, to see things as they were, and convey this to others. For the first time, I felt inspired to write. Writing helped me through my own inner struggles by allowing me an outlet—this outlet helped me reach out to others as well.

Some may call my young family life “abusive” or “neglectful”, though I do not see it as such. Certainly, my father suffered from alcoholism, and my mother suffered from “excitement addiction”, but that only gave me inspiration. It inspired me to break free from their lifestyle and create my own. It inspired me to write--to tell the world what I had learned.

Writing is my passion. Writing gave me the courage to break free from the life of my parents and begin a life of my own. I write, unlike many others, because I have something to say—I have a story to tell.