Life as a Writer - From the Roots of a Mill Town

It has been said by many of my friends that my life as a writer is so exciting. After all, I get to go to interesting places, to see amazing sites, and to meet fascinating people. Yes, all of that is true. I am living a life that I never imagined I would live; after all, I grew up in a desolate community, known as a 'mill town.'

Many people do not understand the description I use when I say mill town. They picture a community where people were close. Life in a mill town was close -- close to everything. We could walk to church and school. When we shopped, we walked to the local general store to purchase what was needed. Never did we have luxury, or an easy life. We were close to our neighbors and we did our best to be a close-knit community.

As a child, I knew I wanted to break away from the mill village. I wanted a life of luxury, and excitement. Now, that I am older and wiser, I realize that life in the mill town was not so bad, after all. My grandparents worked hard to make certain we had what we needed. We wore crisp, clean 'Sunday best' to church. Our clothes for school might have been hand me downs, but we were clean and we did our best to keep the lint off of our clothing. I credit my grandparents with the roots and family values I cherish now. While it is true, I did break away from Bibb City, GA, I took the precious values and morals I learned in a mill town with me.

Over the years and struggles of life as a young married woman, mother and now as I journey into more stresses and adventures of life as a baby boomer, I appreciate what was instilled inside me and with every journey I take as a writer, I am able to appreciate what I was blind to as a child. Writing and the demands of life have opened my eyes, and now I appreciate the little things I watched others do as a child. My roots have spread out as I journey into all of the many aspects of my life as a writer. No longer blind to seeing the good and the evil, I appreciate my life as a writer and I am thankful that I can create stories, characters and adventures from all walks of life. When my readers review my stories, they cannot see how I am dressed, or if my makeup is perfect, or hair windblown or needing a style. My readers experience the journey, the taste, scent, smell and feel of where and what I am sharing. All of the experience is a credit to my life in a mill town, the woman/child I became and the goals, journeys and dreams I worked so hard to develop and believe in. Life is a journey. With each day we meet people, we see places, and we learn another part of our journey to become who we desire and choose to be. Never be envious of those who work hard to seek their dreams. There are many adversities in life that might hold them back, but only through the challenge of road blocks, detours, and the belief in our dreams, do we find the road to take to achieve what we all hold so dear.