21 Reasons Why I Write
 
1. I don’t know how to knit and it gives me something to do with my hands besides using them to eat.
2. It gets me out of my head.
3. It connects me to other people.
4. It names me. I didn’t have that before.
5. It is messy and beautiful, which is a totally great combination.
6. I need to say things.
7. I hate my job.
8. I’m not that good at anything else.
9. I want to.
10. It keeps me focused.
11. Even if nobody else reads it, I made something.
12. I grew up saying almost nothing and it gives me a way to say things.
13. Words read you back to yourself.  
14. A few people have told me stuff I’ve written has made them feel less alone. Like someone gets them. We all want that.
15. It gives me a place for my anger and sadness and for my wishes.
16. Sometimes something really funny comes out.
17. On occasion, it forces me to take a compliment, and I hate those.
18. It makes me part of something bigger.
19. It saves my life over and over.
20. It makes me more honest.
21. It pays so well.

Lauren Becker is editor of Corium Magazine. She has a crooked nose and decent hair, given ideal weather conditions. Her work has been published in some nice places. She has never been nominated for a Pushcart. Her collection of short fiction, Things About Me and You, is included in the anthology Shut Up/Look Pretty (Tiny Hardcore Press, 2012).