Our biggest dreams and greatest hopes for the future are important to us, and expressing them is important too, because talking about them makes it more likely that they will come true. It has worked for me and has helped make some of my wildest dreams a reality.

Of course, expressing oneself isn’t just about telling people what we want. It’s about taking those feelings inside us, which are so difficult to explain, and turning them into something tangible.

Expressing ourselves is difficult sometimes, especially when it comes to things that are close to our hearts. It makes us feel vulnerable, but that’s just how it goes. As a writer, I have felt the slight excitement, but more so the apprehension and even reluctance, over putting something I feel, or a story I have to tell, onto paper. Once I get past that, however, I have a sense of something being lifted off me — something I didn’t really know was even there.

Expressing ourselves is one way to understand ourselves better and to reveal why we feel a certain way or perhaps to help us form more concrete opinions. It is something I do when my characters run into certain situations that force me to think of what I would do in their place. This brings to light parts of my own character that I wasn’t aware of.

Finding an outlet to express oneself is important, and for me, it’s in writing. For others, it may be music, art or something else entirely. No matter what it is for you, I want to encourage you to find it and hold onto it. Being able to release oneself from the burden of keeping things inside is a wonderful experience. It also helps to put things into perspective. Don’t be afraid of sharing what you feel. It doesn’t have to be blatant if you don’t feel too comfortable with it at this point, and perhaps it will be hidden beneath layers of paint or in words exchanged between fictional characters. The important thing is to get it out in the open. As my mom says, ‘The better you are at expressing yourself, the happier you will be’.