There’s a saying that confessions are good for the soul, and I’m not sure if that’s true or not but today I thought I’d put it to the test.

Whenever I write something that I think might go out to the public, I have a moment or more where I pull back just a little. I am not a grammar/sentence structure pro. I know for some of you reading this that is no surprise! I write what someone told me was “stream of consciousness” writing. Sometimes it accidentally happens that one sentence leads to the next and one paragraph to the next and the comas are used properly and there are no run on sentences and everything is spelled correctly (thanks to spell checker) and all that without too much effort.

Learning the exact writing rules is not something that stuck with me. As an adult I took a first year university level English class and the amount of correction markings on my first paper was cringe worthy! I worked so hard at getting it all right during that class. The last composition I had to write I got a very good mark, but oh the struggle! I actually kept that assignment and still have it somewhere.  It will mean nothing to anyone sorting through my stuff when I’m no longer here, but to me there’s such a story around it.

I’ve come to the realization that some people will be driven crazy by my loosely used punctuation. Don’t worry, I will always use “their and they’re ” properly! I’m not that person! I’ve also come to the realization that I don’t want the fact that I may never use punctuation or sentence perfectly, to keep me from writing what I want to say. There are people who absolutely would love to edit and know what’s correct or incorrect grammar and for them I am truly thankful!

So if that’s what’s keeping you from writing what you must, you have my permission to do it wrong, do it badly but do it anyway.