Post #89 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
MEMOIR WRITING PROMPTS: WHEN DO YOU FEEL YOU BELONG?
As some of you know, my partner and I moved from California to Oregon late last year. Specifically, we arrived in Eugene on Thanksgiving morning with a loaded car worthy of my Okie roots. Within a month we had bought a home in Corvallis and began the multi-month process of settling in to our new surroundings. Soon we made new friends, found favorite places to visit, and got cards at the local library. I got my Oregon driver’s license and registered the car for Oregon tags. But none of this made me feel like shouting, “I’m an Oregonian.”
All the while, it was raining and raining and raining. Finally, in May, we have more sun than rain, but that doesn’t meant the rain has gone away. Eventually, we decided we could start walking the many paths near our home. We were always careful to spot a clearing of clouds and as soon as the first rays of sunshine peeked out, we went for our walk. I just couldn’t see this “walking in the rain” business.
Then a couple of days ago, we went for our usual sunshine walk, however, it started raining while we were out. Did we run home? Did we even turn around at that time? Nope. We just continued our walk.
I decided that must mean I’m an Oregonian now.
MEMOIR WRITING PROMPTS:
I wonder if there have been times in your life when you felt you didn’t quite belong? Or you might have thought of it as a time when you were the outsider.
1. Think about a time when you didn’t fit in. Write what it felt like. Dig deep into your emotions. You may want to sit and think about this before you start to write. Embrace those old emotions and then put them all down on paper (or computer screen).
2. Now write about how you coped with the situation. You might never have felt comfortable but you find a way to manage. Write about your adjustment or break through or coping mechanisms.
Everyone has times like this. Sometimes they are traumatic. If so, writing about them helps. Sometimes they only seem big at the moment and later we might even laugh about them. But in all of them, our feelings are definitely involved.
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