Inspired To Write

This is testing week at the ol' dojang, and at black belt class last night we had three people testing for first dan black belt. At our school, we have to write an essay each time we test for another black belt rank. So last night sabumnim read aloud from one candidate's essay. First dan essays tend to be about how taekwondo has changed us, its influence on our lives, etc. And the selections read last night dealt with those topics.

This morning after my regular class, one of the other students who was testing for black belt last night told me that she wanted to take a writing class. "Beth's essay last night--it expressed the things I wanted to say and couldn't."

I was both touched and impressed by that. I've wanted to write since I was in fifth grade, and I always wonder about people who suddenly, well into adulthood, suddenly become interested in it. In this case, I would say that last night's experience left this black belt newbie feeling a need to communicate. During her testing period, the need feels so great she wants to take a writing class in order to be able to do so.

Today's Training Report: Finished the line editing I've been working on this week. Now I need to move all the changes onto the manuscript on my hard drive.