Discovering the richness of our existence through Creative Writing.

Human beings are very interesting. The way we love. The way we eat. The way we fight. Our habits. Our speech. The way we bob down the street. The way we wade through the world. The way we reach toward light. Like plants. I find life fascinating, and life is nothing without people in it. 

This obsession with the richness of our existence fuels my research and writing. The insistence on bearing witness to the human experience as a writer is a heroic responsibility, though I’m no hero. 

I’ve loved and been inspired by poetry and fiction from a young age, and when I began writing poems as a teen, I gravitated toward narrative poetry. One day I thought, “No one really cares about poets. No one talks about them. I should write stories.” But I was scared to write fiction. I respected the art of fiction so much I didn’t even dare. 

Then one day in 2000, I decided to write a piece and submit it for a BBC writing competition. Expectedly, I didn’t win, but I managed to conquer my timidity, and that was enough to open up the creative lane I walk in today. That first story is the shoulder on which subsequent stories have stood on. 

Through this creative outlet, my passion for teaching is fueled by the potential to change a student’s life or improve their understanding of themselves and their absorption of the world. When students see your emotional honesty and your willingness to be vulnerable in the classroom, they know they can truly follow in your footsteps and open their hearts to the beauty of life surrounding them. 
Creative writing enriches the human experience by capturing our momentary lapses and spurts in social growth. It bears the power to emphasize our great need for empathy and kindness, and inspires our willingness and fortitude to forge strong communities connected by one thing: our ability to feel. This is what ignites my passion.